I Smile Real Hard
by November Day
Summary: -Complete- Sparrow O'Connelly was just headed to another wedding. She wasn't expecting to fall in love. Particularly with the bride's older brother, Charlie Thomas
1. Default Chapter

I Smile real Hard.  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
Written by: Squire song  
  
A Brief Pointless Prologue  
  
I smiled real hard and pretended to look happy.  
  
"Okay, now everyone say wedding!"  
  
"No chance in hell!"  
  
SNAP.  
  
There is nothing in this world I hated more then weddings, particularly when they were family ones. Even more so when it's my cousin Edna's. Perfect happy little Edna, the sweetest and luckiest girl in the world not to mention one of the more annoying. But I seem to be the only one in the world to know that.  
  
"Okay, everyone make a funny face," I swear to god I'm going to break this woman's camera soon. I glower at the camera and at that moment my cell went off. Fifteen heads turned and glared at me.  
  
"Excuse me," I muttered and quickly walked from the posing wedding party, their disapproving eyes following me. I grabbed the cell from my puffed sleeve hiding spot that was attached to the bridesmaid dress from hell and flicked it open.  
  
"Whoever you are you have my eternal gratitude," was my greeting.  
  
"That's nice Sparrow, but were did you put the pictures from India?" It was Kristy Thomas, my boss.  
  
"That's a good question and unfortunately I have no answer, but I had thought that I had given them to Lyn." This was met with a sigh and a new voice calling out Ms. Thomas, Ms. Thomas!  
  
"Look I'm going to have to go, but here's Mary Anne."  
  
"Hey Sparrow, sorry about this," came Mary Anne's voice over the line  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"Well good. Do you know where those pictures are that you took in India?" I repeated my answer from before.  
  
"According to her you didn't."  
  
"Hum, I could have sworn I did. I was about to leave for work and they were in my hand. I went back to get my purse from the kitchen and I put them down on the kitchen table. And it looks like forgot to pick them up again. Opps."  
  
" Oh well I'll just get them when I'm feeding Batman and Robyn."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Oh well, at least you didn't leave them in the subway like last time. So how is the wedding going?"  
  
"Ask me after the reception."  
  
"That bad already?"  
  
"I'm going to have nightmares for weeks."  
  
"It'll be over soon enough and then you can leave."  
  
"Yes, but will I survive till then?"  
  
"I have faith in you Sparrow."  
  
"Well at least one of us does. Kristy sounds pretty stressed, still can't find a priest eh?" I leaned on the wall of the Church and started digging through my other puffed sleeve for a mint I had stuffed in there.  
  
"Oh Lord, don't even ask, I swear to God this wedding might be the thing that is going to make her crack."  
  
"What is Sparrow doing that is taking so long?" someone called out from the wedding party. From the annoying pitch of it, it must have been Aunt Ida.  
  
"Ahh Kristy's tuff she'll find someone. Anyway I have to go Mary Anne. We still haven't finished pictures."  
  
"Right, just remember with every minute, it's one minute sooner till you can leave."  
  
"Thanks Mary Anne, pet the dynamic duo for me."  
  
"Will do, bye." I clicked the phone shut and stuffed it back up my sleeve while I stuffed the mint into my mouth.  
  
"Well Sparrow you finally finished?" asked my great Uncle Jim.  
  
"Every minute," I muttered under my breath and putting a fake smile back on my face headed back into the madness.  
  
Confused? All will make sense next chapter. 


	2. A Train Ride

I Smile Real Hard  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing  
  
By: Squire Song  
  
Chapter 1- A Train Ride  
  
Sparrow raced through the packed train station in search of her train. She as per usual was running late because of a photo opportunity to good to miss out on. She was (if her legs can carry her quickly enough to get her to her train) headed to some small town by the name of Stoneybrook for a wedding.  
  
Sparrow O'Connelly had met Mary Anne Spier and Kristin Thomas in University. After they had graduated from University they had started a magazine in New York called Everyday Life. (Sparrow had inherited a lot of money from eccentric Aunt) Kristy with her brilliant ideas and take charge attitude was editor in chief. Mary Anne with her keen insight into situations was a writer and the second in command of the magazine. Sparrow with her adventurous spirit was a photographer and wrote the Around The World article. That had been five years ago and not much had changed expect that they had become one of the most read magazines in all of North America. True they had struggled in the beginning to keep it going, but it had caught on. Mary Anne Spier had become Mary Anne Morgan and had one daughter named Alma, while Kristy had begun dating a doctor named Nicholas Thomas who she met via Mary Anne's husband (he's a psychiatrist). And it was their wedding that was causing Sparrow to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for her train.  
  
"Ahh there it is!" and Sparrow in one amazing leap jumped onto the train just as the door closed. She showed the ticket man her ticket and went in search of Mary Anne. She found her friend muttering under her breath about Sparrow's lack of watch wearing. The girl hadn't changed too much over the years. She was still sensitive and worried about things too much. Her brown hair was still short. Not so much for style now, but for not having her hair painfully tugged by her daughter. She was dressed in a conservative business suit and sat elegantly in her seat. Her smile was in a worried frown though for the most part it's normally seen as a warm smile. Sparrow on the other hand was quite a startling contrast. She had long out of control red hair that was always in a messy bun at the back of her head; kept in a place with whatever happened to be pointy and lying around. If it wasn't in the bun -on days when she needed to look some professional- it was in a long messy braid all down her back. She was wearing a yellow vest with a sparrow on the back that she had had since she was 15, a blue long sleeve shirt and baggy blue jeans. It looked very casual and lived in. She was around 5 foot 9, never bothering to actually get specific measurements. Her green eyes danced with hidden humor when she slipped into a seat in front of Mary Anne, who smiled at her in relief.  
  
"Thank Goodness, I thought you had missed the train. Again."  
  
"That wasn't my fault!" Mary Anne just eyed Sparrow, " Well, maybe just a little."  
  
"Well at least you're here," Mary Anne as she was at 13 looked at the bright side of things.  
  
"Precisely, now what's the plan when we arrive?"  
  
"Didn't Kristy tell you?"  
  
"I sort of tuned out that part of the conversation. Batman and Robin had just gotten into this cute little play fight," Sparrow offered in explanation as Mary Anne sighed a very well used sigh.  
  
"Okay, Dad will pick us up and drop are luggage off at the house, were we'll then head to Watson's and Elizabeth's and as Kristy puts it draw battle plans over lunch."  
  
"Sounds like fun. Did Alma leave you okay?" Mary Anne's face lit up as it often did when someone mentioned her daughter. And this allowed Sparrow's lack of attention to be forgotten in the wonder of a mother's pride in her child.  
  
"It took a little bribery, but yah. I think she'll like spending some time with her father." The rest of the Morgan's were going to Stoneybrook a week later for the wedding.  
  
"She'll probably drive poor George insane. Who is all going to be there for this lunch?" Sparrow's voice was a little ruffled as she went diving into her bag in search of a pen.  
  
"Elizabeth, Karen, you, me and all the girls from the BSC." Sparrow cringed at the last part, making sure that Mary Anne didn't see. It wasn't that she disliked all of the girls, it was just that she found herself out of the loop a great deal when Mary Anne and Kristy talked about them. She had felt like a complete outsider when she had met them all at Mary Anne's wedding. She only knew Jessi at all. Jessi was a ballerina and lived in New York. Claudia the famous artist/ fashion designer was in Chicago, Stacey also a fashion designer lived in San Francisco, Dawn the marine biologist for Greenpeace was wherever she needed to be, Abby the pediatrician was living in Oklahoma and Mallory was still in Stoneybrook with her 5 kids writing her award winning books. Mary Anne knew right off the bat that Sparrow had felt a little out of place with the group and had made a mental note to include Sparrow more.  
  
"Great, just great," muttered Sparrow.  
  
Please read and review. No Flames please. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. 


	3. Arriving

Hi! Kristy's and Nicholas's last name is the same just because they are. They have no relation to one and other. The topic of the same last names will hopefully come up in the story later. There is a little incident to it.  
  
Anyway thank you all for reviewing!!! I'm sorry that this hasn't been updated lately, but I have been having some problems writing this chapter. It's not my favorite chapter and I had to force myself to write it. So if it really stinks, sorry.  
  
  
  
I Smile Real Hard  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
Charlie Thomas P.O.V  
  
"Charlie!"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I need you to do me a favor!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can you pick up Mary Anne and Sparrow? Mary Anne's Dad had to go to his office. Some problem came up."  
  
"Do I look like a taxi service?"  
  
"CHARLIE, PLEASE!"  
  
"Fine, fine."  
  
I headed out the door fishing my car keys out of my pocket as I went. Normally I would have given Kristy more of a hard time, but my dear sister's nerves at the moment were stretched beyond healthy limits. When that happens you do as Kristy asks. You'll regret it if you don't. I have come to realize this the hard way over many years. She hadn't even acted this frazzled when the magazine had just started out understaffed, under funded and under the threat of folding. But that's Kristy for you. Cool as a fall day when it comes to professional matters, but things aren't so neat and tidy when it comes to the personal. I don't think she has anything to worry about. Nick, her intended was perfect for her. As Mom, Karen, Emily Michelle, Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, Mallory, Jessi, Abby, Sparrow and every other family relation had been telling her. I wondered if she was going to make it to the wedding without killing the caterer. At least with the coming of the BSC she had calmed down a little. I would be even more relieved when Mary Anne came. If anyone could calm Kristy it was Mary Anne. All the BSC (expect for Mary Anne) had arrived yesterday and I was thankful not to have been witness to it. Apparently from a report made by my mother there had been a lot of catching up which had been interrupted with squeals of delight whenever another member arrived. I smiled and jumped into my car, heading to the train station.  
  
The place wasn't very busy when I got there. Mary Anne and Sparrow's train had just arrived and passengers were streaming out of the doors. I was trying to spot them when I was suddenly hit with a giant orange suitcase.  
  
"Ouch," I cried out.  
  
"I'm sorry," said a voice I immediately recognized as Sparrow's. "Oh Charlie I'm sorry," she said again when she realized who I was. I had met Sparrow many times and thought her name fit her personality well.  
  
"You said that already."  
  
"True, but that last one was more heartfelt. What are you doing here anyway?"  
  
"A problem came up at Mr. Spier's office and Kristy asked me to come get you."  
  
"I bet she did."  
  
"How sweet of you Charlie," spoke Mary Anne, " has everyone else arrived at the house?"  
  
"Every BSC member there and accounted for, expect for you of course."  
  
"Good. I can't wait to see Dawn and everyone again." We headed straight to the mansion at Mary Anne's insistence.  
  
"MARY ANNE!"  
  
"THE BSC IS TRULY TOGETHER AGAIN."  
  
"JUST LIKE BEFORE."  
  
"Expect we're a lot fatter and older."  
  
"Abby you're destroying the mood."  
  
"AHHH."  
  
Sparrow and I just stood smiling real hard. The girls were all hugging and crying in the doorway, thus blocking it. We didn't want to interrupt the reunion by asking them to move. After about ten minutes, still chattering they all converged as one into the house. Sparrow and I followed carrying luggage. They headed straight to the living room as Sparrow and I dropped the luggage on the floor with a clatter.  
  
"Thanks Charlie for the ride. Can you tell me where my room is so I can dump this stuff." She waved her hand aimlessly at her luggage. I was surprised, I figured she would go with the other girls.  
  
"Sure, but don't you want to do that later?"  
  
"Nah, let them have their reunion without having an outsider present." I thought that was very considerate and agreed to show her to her room.  
  
" Here we are." I led her to a comfortable guest bedroom on the second floor.  
  
"This is nice." I smiled at her and left. I had to go pick up Mac from her friend's house.  
  
And who is this Mac? You'll find out in the next exiting chapter of, I Smile Real Hard. Please read and review. No flames, but constructive criticism is always welcome. 


	4. A Dinner Invitation

Hello!!! THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING.  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Of.  
  
I Smile Real Hard  
  
A chapter entitled.  
  
An Invitation to Dinner  
  
  
  
"SPARROW WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Kristy Thomas screamed while she lunged out of bed with murder written on her face. Sparrow, who had just taken a picture of the sleeping Kristy with the camera that was around her neck, held up a tray with her friend's breakfast on it.  
  
"You told me to take pictures so you could remember this time forever. I was quite touched and determined to do you proud." Kristy grabbed her still warm pillow and chucked it at her friend who ducked it easily. "Oh calm it Kristy, I have come bearing your coffee and bagel.  
  
"You didn't make it did you?"  
  
"No, I'm not that mean. Your mother did." Kristy fell back into bed and dragged the covers over her head.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"7:00am and it's going to be a beautiful summer day."  
  
"Wake me up in an hour."  
  
"Nope, it's not my problem you stayed up to 4 something in the morning gabbing with friends."  
  
"Mean."  
  
"Ain't I just," said Sparrow putting the breakfast tray down on Kristy's night table so the dowsing girl could get it when she wanted to. Kristy not being able to resist the smell of coffee this early in the morning- especially when she was this tired- slowly came out of her cocoon. Smiling into the warm steaming mug, she took a sip. The bride-to-be began to think over what she and co had to do that day. Battle with the caterer, buy flowers, go for fittings. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. She, Kristin Amanda Thomas was getting married. She nervously started to tap her coffee cup.  
  
Sparrow O'Conelly in the mean time was in the kitchen dancing idly around with a plate of food in each hand to the golden oldie Sugar, Sugar, which was blaring on the radio. Elizabeth, Kristy's mother was at the stove making bacon and eggs for breakfast. The two woman were making breakfast trays up for the rest of the BSC who had all been up till 4 something in the morning talking about the good old times and had ended up staying over for the night. They decided instead of going back to their folk's place, they would just stay over.  
  
Sparrow was heading over to a tray with Claudia's breakfast plate in her hand when she suddenly stumbled while attempting to do some spectacular dance move. She watched in horror as the plate went flying across half the kitchen and landed in the face of Charlie Thomas, who was just coming in the door from the backyard. Elizabeth turned at the sound of the plate hitting her son's face and tried to suppress a laugh at the sight that beheld her. Charlie with a very surprised look on his face was starring at the yolk that trickled off him and onto the floor. A pool of yellow yolk was starting to form at his feet. Sparrow on the other hand didn't even try to suppress her laughter and added insult to injury.  
  
"Breakfast is served." Charlie just sot of snorted. Then he picked up a piece of bacon off his shoulder, looked at it and ate it.  
  
"It's delicious." The room erupted with laughter.  
  
Later that afternoon.  
  
"Flowers?"  
  
"Check."  
  
"Caterer's"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Sigh.  
  
"My sanity?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"The bridesmaids dresses?"  
  
"Check."  
  
"Seating plan?"  
  
"Done."  
  
"Nick's Great Aunt isn't sitting anywhere near Nick's grandmother?"  
  
"Check."  
  
"Well that's it for the day everyone. Good job. Stace, what happened with the caterers?"  
  
"Something about fish not being appropriate for a wedding."  
  
Sigh.  
  
"I'll talk to them tomorrow."  
  
Kristy put her checklist down and flopped on the couch. The other members of the BSC already were or had headed back home to get some rest. The only ones remaining were Mary Anne and Stacey.  
  
"Well, Kristy I think I'm going to head back to Mom's to get some rest. Mary Anne do you want me to drop you off?"  
  
"That would be great as long as Kristy doesn't need help with anything else."  
  
"Go get some sleep Mary Anne." The two woman left. Kristy after a lot of encouragement from Sparrow saying she could entertain herself for a couple hours went to bed as well.  
  
Sparrow walked the mansion wondering what to do. Unlike the BSC, she had gone to bed at around 11 and was still wide-awake. It was 5:30pm and there was only the sleeping Kristy, the various pets and her in the house. She decided something to eat sounded good. Just as Sparrow started to shuffle through the kitchen cupboards hoping to find something to eat that wouldn't require her to actually cook, the back door opened and a very cautious Charlie stuck his head in. When he saw Sparrow looking at him weirdly he smiled. It appeared he had forgiven her for the morning.  
  
"Who's around?"  
  
"No one really. Kristy is dead to the world, your folks are at an auction, Karen is somewhere, Emily Michelle is at a sitting job and Hello Mac." The girl of 8 years smiled at Sparrow. She had just walked in as her father had declared it save from flying breakfast plates.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"How yah been?"  
  
"Good."  
  
"So your on your own?" asked Charlie.  
  
"Well, Kristy's physical body is here, but not so much Kristy. And Kristy's body isn't much fun, it only snores when you ask it something."  
  
" I see, well you can come have supper at our place tonight," said Charlie over his daughter's giggle.  
  
"No, that's alright. I'll scare me up some grub here."  
  
"No you won't. I remember what happened last time, you almost burnt the house down." "You just can't let that go can you?"  
  
"Come on."  
  
(Convenient how Charlie keeps popping up, no?)  
  
AT CHARLIE'S HOUSE  
  
Charlie Thomas's house was small, but a cozy one. It had a big pine tree in the front yard that hid the front of the house a bit. It resided on a little street called Clover Avenue just 10 minutes away from the mansion.  
  
Upon opening the door a Great Dane made a beeline for Sparrow. The girl use to the sight of a huge dog crusading toward her simply stepped out of the way.  
  
"STOP, YOU NUTTY MUTT." The dog stopped in his tracks and looked sheepishly at the glaring Mac.  
  
"Well hello, who is this?" said Sparrow patting the head of the great dog.  
  
"This is Danny. Sorry if he startled you a bit, he's a little too excitable,"  
  
"No problem, I'm use to it. I have a Great Dane myself with the same problem, his names Robin." The three headed into the house discussing their respectable Great Danes. Danny followed them waving his tail sluggishly. It was decided that a pizza dinner would be best and they went about making it.  
  
In the middle of seeing who could put the most pepperonis on a pizza in 10 seconds Sparrow asked what Mac's real name was. She hoped that it would distract the girl from putting the pepperoni down as fast as she was and thus give her enough of an edge to win. Besides she was curious. She had never heard the girl's real name and she had known her for 4 years.  
  
"Micheala and only my enemies call me that," the girl said without even slowing down a notch. At that moment Mac put her last piece of pepperoni down and proclaimed herself winner.  
  
"I'll remember that," said Sparrow looking at the pepperoni.  
  
"Since we're on the topic of names, why' re you called Sparrow?"  
  
"My father had this strange obsession with birds. He named all of my older siblings after them. But when I came along there were no more normal or even slightly normal names that were also bird names left. So instead of just admitting defeat he called me Sparrow, dooming me to a life of teasing by immature public school kids and being asked, "were your parents hippies?"  
  
"Ouch. What are your siblings names?"  
  
" Jay, Raven, Lark, Robin, Crane, Oriole and Kea."  
  
"Is Kea a bird?"  
  
"It's a parrot from New Zealand or something."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Do they all live in New York, your siblings I mean, not the parrots."  
  
"Yup, Jay, Raven, Lark, Robin and Crane are lawyers. Oriole owns a little café and Kea's a carpenter.  
  
"Must be nice to have them so close," said Charlie as he put the pizzas in the oven.  
  
"Well most of the time, sometimes I wouldn't mind if they all moved to Siberia though."  
  
The eating of the pizza was filled with much laughter as Mac had put to much cheese on hers. The rest of the evening was spent in front of the TV playing some Playstation racing game. Mac had challenged Sparrow and had promptly kicked her butt. Sparrow being Sparrow demanded rematch after rematch. By the time Mac had to go to bed they must have played 50 races with Mac winning every single one of them.  
  
"I pity you when she begins to learn to drive," said Sparrow looking at the TV and shaking her head in amazement.  
  
"I pity me too."  
  
"Well come on Charlie, perhaps I'll have a chance against you." She handed him Mac's control.  
  
"No thank you."  
  
"What? Scared small man?"  
  
"No, I just don't want to be up till the wee small hours of the morning trying to beat you is all."  
  
"No such luck Chuck. Flattery is not getting you out of this."  
  
"Shouldn't you be going? It's quite late you know."  
  
"How rude. I'll only forgive you if you have one race with me."  
  
"Your not going to drop this are you?"  
  
"Nope. I just got beat by an 8 year old and must make myself feel better by creaming somebody at this. As you are the only one around, you have just been designated the honor."  
  
"Mother will be so proud. Fine, but one race only." He took the controller from Sparrow.  
  
A couple hours later Sparrow dropped her controller in disgust.  
  
"I give up. I can see were Mac gets it from."  
  
"Or you could just be that bad."  
  
"The thought did occur to me, but I figured it impossible," said Sparrow, her voice and face in a deadpan expression. Charlie laughed, turned off the game and stood up. They had been sitting on the floor, as the controllers didn't reach far enough to go to the couch. While they had been playing the couch had been taken over by a snoring, sleeping Danny.  
  
"I think we've been booted," said Charlie looking at the dog.  
  
"Not necessarily." Sparrow picked up the head of the sleeping dog and slid onto the couch. She then laid the dog's head on her lap. "You can have the butt."  
  
" This happens to you a lot?"  
  
"It's just more simple then waking Robin up, cause then you wake Batman up and then you don't get to go to sleep for hours and besides they make very good blankets."  
  
"Batman another dog?"  
  
"Nope, she's a Sparrow with a busted wing that rides around on Robins head."  
  
"Oh," with that Charlie moved the butt and sat down.  
  
They talked a little while longer and then they realized the time. It was 1:00 in the morning.  
  
"I have to go," said Sparrow grabbing for her shoes.  
  
"Ahhh, I can't give you a ride. There's no one to watch Mac."  
  
"Oh. Well I can walk. It's only Stoneybrook. I somehow doubt there all that many gangs roaming around wanting to kill me."  
  
"You could stay here?"  
  
"No, that's okay."  
  
"No, really."  
  
"Bye." Sparrow headed off in the direction of the mansion. Charlie watched her go and shook his head. He then headed upstairs and went to sleep.  
  
(A/N I should stop here, but I just wanted to add this last part.)  
  
Sparrow turned the handle of the front door. Nothing happened. It was locked. Sparrow muttered some choice words and tried to figure out what to do. She didn't want to wake anybody up in the house, so she voted not to ring the bell. Instead Sparrow began looking in such things as flowerpots and the mailbox hoping to find a spare key. She found nothing.  
  
"Curses."  
  
Deciding that breaking a window would not be an ideal thing to do as a guest in the house Sparrow ditched that plan. Instead she circled the house trying to find an open window. Many of the upper story windows were open, but none of the lower. Sparrow solved the problem by getting a ladder from the back. She put it up under Kristy's window figuring Kristy might not ask as many questions as to why Sparrow was breaking into her house at 1:30 in the morning. She climbed the ladder and immediately realized she had a problem. The window was kind of small and would be hard to get into. Kristy was in the room still dead asleep. Sparrow as quietly as she could put her foot and leg in the window when suddenly a voice boomed.  
  
"M'AM JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The police officer looked up at Sparrow with a mean scold on his face. Sparrow almost fell off her ladder in surprise.  
  
"God, you scared me, officer," said the girl on the ladder as she regaining her balance.  
  
"Funny, you're scaring the neighbors."  
  
" Really. Whoops," said Sparrow as she cringed inside. She laughed out loud though, trying to make light of the situation. It didn't work.  
  
"M'am I repeat what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm not breaking and entering."  
  
"It sure looks that way."  
  
"I'm a guest here and I got back a little late and wouldn't you know it the door was locked!"  
  
"Really."  
  
"Yes, boy this is embarrassing."  
  
"I have no doubt."  
  
"Well I'll just continue climbing in this window and you officer can go assure those neighbors, that I'm not a robber, I'm just insane." Sparrow laughed again and desperately tried to get in the window.  
  
"GET AWAY FROM THE WINDOW." Sparrow put her hands up and looked at the officer.  
  
"I assure you sir this is just one big mistake."  
  
"SPARROW! WHAT THE"  
  
"AHHHH." Sparrow almost fell from the ladder again as Kristy starred at her from across her room.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING."  
  
"Long story, but can you assure the nice police officer that I'm not trying to rob your house?"  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"You've said that many times already honey." Kristy walked over to the window and looking over Sparrow's leg. The police officer smiled up at her and waved. Kristy smiled back and moved away from the window.  
  
"There's a cop down there," Kristy said to her friend with a forced smile on her face.  
  
"Yup and guess what, he wants to arrest me because he thinks I'm breaking in," replied Sparrow also force smiling.  
  
"Sparrow, you are."  
  
"Kristy, don't do this."  
  
Kristy looked out the window again and smiled even harder at the police officer.  
  
"It's alright. She's a guest not a robber."  
  
"Are you sure ma'am?"  
  
"For the time being yes."  
  
"Very well ma'am."  
  
"Thank you officer." The officer walked away. Kristy turned to her friend and still smiling an insane little smile asked,  
  
"Where were you?"  
  
"Charlie's."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll explain later, just help me get in." Krsity sighed in disgust and started pulling Sparrow's leg.  
  
"You know the back door was unlocked."  
  
  
  
There you go. Boy, that was a really long chapter. Please review and no flames please. 


	5. Bickering

Thank you to all that reviewed! They are much appreciated.  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
I Smile Real Hard  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Sparrow awoke later that morning to the sound of muttering. She tried to ignore it for a little while, but it was very persistent. Finally cracking an eye open, she discovered Kristy absent-mindingly sipping a cup of coffee and pacing the room.  
  
"I hope that wasn't suppose to be for me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The coffee."  
  
"Oh! Sorry." Sparrow went from sleepy to annoyed when hearing that.  
  
"Kristy just for the sake of curiosity, WHY ARE YOU IN HERE?"  
  
"Coffee."  
  
"Which you have drunk.'  
  
"Right." She seemed lost as to how to proceed. The girl who had been hanging out the side of a window less then 5 hours ago decided it was time to say what everyone had been thinking.  
  
"Kristy, are you a little bit scared about the coming nuptials?"  
  
"NO! Why would you ask that?" Sparrow just raised an eyebrow and glared at the cup in Kristy's hand.  
  
"I love Nick."  
  
"Of course you do."  
  
"I'm going to marry him and I AM GOING TO BE HAPPY!"  
  
"Or you're going to die trying!"  
  
"PERCISELY."  
  
"Let's celebrate such an important proclamation by you making me something to eat!" Kristy laughed and exited the room. Sparrow had done her duty, though she was still coffee and foodless.  
  
Eventually Sparrow could no longer ignore the thought of coffee and dragged her lazy butt down to the kitchen. Both Kristy and Watson were there discussing flower arrangements for the wedding.  
  
"Good morning, sleep well?" asked Watson. Before anybody could say anything, Watson hit Sparrow with a question not so easily answerable as the first one. "Where were you last night by the way?"  
  
"Yes, what were you up to last night?" At that moment the coffee deprived Sparrow could have murdered the bride-to-be with a clear conscience.  
  
"I'm fine," is all she said and headed to the coffeepot.  
  
"Well that's good, but that doesn't explain the cops last night." Kristy with an unholy look of glee on her face turned toward her stepfather so she could see his reaction to that statement.  
  
"You're the one that tried to break into Mrs. Quest's house?" asked Watson in a remarkably calm tone as he poured himself some orange juice.  
  
"What! I didn't break into anybody's house! Well except for this one."  
  
"This I have to hear," and he settled himself onto a chair.  
  
"Can't say as though I remember." Sparrow took out a shot glass she had found somewhere and filled it with coffee.  
  
"Well I can understand that. There have been so many insistences when you have had a brush with the police. Remember that time in Germany?"  
  
"NOPE."  
  
"Well I guess you wouldn't. That was a nasty fall you took when that police officer snuck up on you when you were illegally trying to climb a water tower to get a picture of a sunset. It cost quite a few Deutsche marks to spring you out."  
  
"I haven't heard that one."  
  
"Really? It nearly caused an international scandal."  
  
"It did not!"  
  
"Or how about when you tried to break into Pat's office? You tried to convince the security guard you were Pat's sister. Only problem though was Pat was Chinese. I still don't quite understand why you did that."  
  
"Or how about that first time you came to visit Sparrow and."  
  
"you nearly burned the house down," finished Charlie walking into the kitchen.  
  
Sparrow left the shot glass of coffee on the counter and headed back upstairs carrying with her the near full coffeepot.  
  
Anyway, that's it. The next chapter though is the wedding! Poor Charlie and Sparrow find themselves to be the only ones without a date. Oh what will they do? 


	6. Folding Chairs

Chapter Six  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything  
  
The day was gorgeous. The clouds in the sky were the kind that inspired future great leaders, thinkers and dreamers. Moved along with a breeze that seemed to hold the peace of mind many hoped to find in their life, if only they would stop and breathe it in.  
  
Course very few people at the Brewer house were thinking such thoughts. No one actually. No one would be I suppose when you have a wedding in two days. Instead thoughts ran along the lines of what do you mean the flowers have all frozen? I said I wanted the chicken not the turkey! Mrs. Patterson you CAN NOT bring your three golden retrievers to the wedding, I don't care how well behaved they are. Generally speaking all of these problems can be fixed quickly and easily. All you have to do is put the hysterical screaming bride on the phone and voila all is good. And with discounts. All expect of course when the folding chairs burn to the ground with the Church they were in. Which then leads (after a hundred frantic phone calls) Kristy being forced to use one of Sparrow's family contacts to get folding chairs.  
  
"Sparrow are you sure you're reading that right?"  
  
"How else could I read it?"  
  
"Wrongly."  
  
"Wrongly, what a horrible word. It doesn't suit you at all. Heck it doesn't even work for your stereotypes."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"See now that does."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"All's I mean is that by you being a English teacher you are stereotyped as either being a very pompous professor that everyone makes fun of and rightly so.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Or everyone's best friend that is always willing to spew off clever advice to whatever supposed traumatized student that darkens your doorway with his brooding."  
  
"Just exactly-and I am sure I will be quite impressed on how you do this-does this have to do with the word wrongly."  
  
"Well do you see your old English teacher going, "No Mr. Thomas that is wrongly."  
  
"Well I would have hoped that my English teacher would have better grammar then that."  
  
"Precisely. Wrongly is one of those words pompous English teachers cringe over when hearing. And it doesn't work with the understanding English teacher because of its negativity. No brooding teenager is wrong; they are just "misunderstood." And by using such words as wrongly you will traumatize them for up to four years. Then they go out into the real world and realize no one cares."  
  
"Well can't say as though I'm impressed, in fact I'm still mystified."  
  
"How can you still be mystified? I explained it quite well."  
  
" I'm mystified for a different reason."  
  
"That being.?"  
  
"What I did to God that peeved Him off so much that He burned one of his Churches to the ground. Which consequently found me trapped in a car for four hours with you, discussing things that have absolutely no relevance to real life and only make sense in your head."  
  
"Well it could be worse."  
  
"HOW?"  
  
"I could like to kill people as well. By the way are we suppose to be in North Glory?"  
  
"Speaking of killing people."  
  
2 hours later.  
  
"How hard is it to simply read a map?"  
  
"A lot harder then you would think."  
  
"I bet."  
  
"Do you have any idea where we are yet?"  
  
"I know where we are, it's just beyond me how we got here."  
  
"A Doop bag whinfy."  
  
"Do I even want to ask?"  
  
"A Displacing Of Ones' Person By A God That Has It iN For You."  
  
"I see. Though shouldn't it be I instead of an N?"  
  
"You try making a word with two I's right after each other."  
  
"My mistake."  
  
"Yes, you were quite wrongly."  
  
They finally arrived in the small town of St. Thomas two and a half-hours late, cranky and wishing never to see the car again. The man at the St. Thomas church wasn't there much to no one's surprise.  
  
"How again do you know this guy?"  
  
"I don't really. He's somehow associated with my sister, Oriole."  
  
"So you would have no idea where he is?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"What he looks like?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"What his phone number is?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"A last name?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"How could you not know his last name?"  
  
"Because I don't even know his first one."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me."  
  
"Well he seems to be quite a strange bloke. Hasn't even told my sister what his name is and she's known him for 10 years. I can tell you though that he really likes cherry pie."  
  
"How helpful."  
  
"It is actually."  
  
The bells tingled as Sparrow pushed the door to Sam's Bakery open. The normal bakery smell hit her and she breathed it in. A man looked up at them with an icing knife in his hand.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
"We were wondering if you had any cherry pies made?"  
  
"Sorry, just sold the last one an hour ago."  
  
"Oh good." The baker looked at her oddly. "Did you sell it to a male specimen that buys them quite regularly?"  
  
"Are you sure this is the right address?"  
  
"Of course not. I just felt like taking a tour of St. Thomas at 9 at night."  
  
"Hey with your history that could be quite possible!" Sparrow glared and Charlie glared right back. The Gods above were making bets on who was going to throw the first punch. The two humans back on earth, were standing in front of a mobile home that could quite possibly been the first of its kind ever built.  
  
"Make sure you don't get lost on your way to the door." Sparrow in mid-knock stopped and snorted. Turning she looked at the man behind her with disbelief.  
  
"What are you? FIVE?"  
  
"Just knock on the door would you?"  
  
"Make sure you don't get lost on your way to the door, honestly." The girl snorted again and turned to knock. Instead she found herself stopping her closed fist from knocking on the nose of a pot bellied beady eyed man dressed in nothing but boxers.  
  
"Hello, we're your 6 O'clock appointment." She was answered with a slamming door. Sparrow dropped the raised fist, reluctantly.  
  
" Well that settles it. You get to explain to Kristy why all the guests are going to have to sit on the floor."  
  
" We're not beaten yet. We still have the options of blackmail, bribery and robbery you know. Bribery, has a lesser chance of us ending up in jail on Kristy's wedding day."  
  
"At least we'd have the protection of the police when she found out what happened."  
  
"I do believe you underestimate that girl."  
  
"Thank you again, sir. My sister will hear of this kindness." Sparrow's answer again was a slamming door. "I'm rather amazed that this thing hasn't tipped over, what with the amount of force of that door slamming all the time."  
  
"Give me those keys."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It took us an hour to talk him into giving them to you. I will NOT risk you losing them." Our main characters had managed to get Cherry pie eating, boxer boy to hand over the keys to the room were the chairs were stored in the Church, using many forms of bribery.  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?"  
  
"It means you have the most amazing ability to never get anywhere on time. Somehow either you or God throws some ridiculously absurd obstacle in your path that can take days to fix."  
  
"So how long have you had this theory?"  
  
"I heard about that incident in India!"  
  
"THAT WAS NOT MY FAULT!"  
  
"Fine, just give me the keys." Sparrow tossed them right at Charlie's unsuspecting head, which was really quite foolish of both of them. Particularly when you're on a bridge. The ripples created by the key's tumble into the pond reflected the horror filled face of Charlie Thomas and Sparrow's startled one.  
  
"Well maybe you do have a point." And possibly for the first time in a long time, Charlie Thomas started laughing until it hurt. After the initial shock wore off Sparrow joined him.  
  
Ten minutes later and after the keys were well sunk they stopped to catch a breath and figure out what to do.  
  
"Where exactly did they fall?"  
  
"Right over there."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"There."  
  
Splash!  
  
"Did you find them?"  
  
"Yes, they're embedded in my butt thanks to you."  
  
"Well your not likely to loose them again are you? Need help up?" Charlie offered his hand to a floundering Sparrow of the lake.  
  
"That's the same hand you used to push me in with. There has got to be some form of symbolism in that, irony at the least." She grabbed the hand anyway and he hauled her to her feet. In the process, they both found their face's only inches apart. Neither could avoid the others eyes. A strange connection formed between them that was only broken when Charlie moved away hastily.  
  
"Yes, well better get those chairs."  
  
"Yah, better do that. Still got a long drive ahead of us. I'm calling the directions." 


	7. A Phone call from Mom and other things

Thanks for the reviews! All right, this is short, but further planting the seed for romance. I swear the next chapter will be the wedding and longer (if anybody actually cares, of course!).  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.  
  
Chapter 7 (I think)  
  
A Phone Call From Mom.  
  
Sparrow's point of view  
  
"Know when you give me your hand you're giving me your heart as well."  
  
"And know when you take it, my love, I have taken yours."  
  
"Darling, I'd have it no other way." He lifted me out of the water. My clothing, which had consisted of soaked jeans and a sweater became a beautiful blue shimmering dress of twilight. The keys fell back in the pond forgotten. I looked deep into his blue beautiful sparkling eyes that held my past, present and future, my very existence. At the moment at least. A day could have gone by with us just starring into each other's eyes. We were the only two people in the world.  
  
"Dance with me, my Shelky, for I have taken you from you're watery home and thus you must do my bidding!"  
  
"Only if you can catch me." Music swelled around us as I ran. The landscape became that of Van Gogh's "Starry Night." He chased and caught me easily.  
  
"You are mine," he whispered in my ear.  
  
"Oh Charlie." Our lips touched just barely.  
  
It was at this point that I woke up screaming and resolved to burn all my brothers' romance novels at my earliest convenience. No matter how ridiculously funny I find them such images as those don't belong in my head, particularly with CHARLIE THOMAS, a widower with a child for goodness sake! I don't care how blue those eyes are or how strong his arms were (A/N I have no idea what Charlie looks like in the books, so I'm just making it up), it's Charlie Thomas! I began to laugh at myself and only just registered that my cell phone was ringing. The clock blared at me that it was 4 in the morning. Only one person would phone me this late when I was out of town.  
  
"Hello, mother."  
  
"Hello dear, how are things?"  
  
"Mother it's 4 in the morning."  
  
"Really? I thought it wasn't even past ten! I guess my mind must be going!" I refrained from saying something sarcastic, but true. "Oh well! You sound wide awake." She seemed rather unconcerned and then her maternal instincts kicked in. "Why is that?"  
  
"I'm a vampire, I forgot to tell you. If you could pass it onto the rest of the family that would be very helpful." I paused for a second and in an afterthought added, "Perhaps they would leave me alone then." I shuffled through my bag looking for a mint and telling myself silently that I really needed to come up with better flippant answers.  
  
"You're trying to cover up something, dear. Now quit stalling and tell me why you're up this late. Isn't the wedding later this morning?" Now her maternal instincts were being fueled by her nosy ones.  
  
"I can't sleep because I keep thinking of a guy I think I may have married in a past life. Ah Ha!" I pulled out the mint and stuffed it in my mouth. There was only silence on the other end.  
  
" Fine, I'll drop it for now. (She enunciated that now pretty hard.) Where have you been the last two days?" I cringed and rolled my eyes at the same time.  
  
"I was getting folding chairs."  
  
"For two days?"  
  
"I was the map person."  
  
"Oh I see. Wait, directing US?" Curse my inability to think clearly at 4 in the morning!  
  
"I went with Charlie Thomas."  
  
"Kristy's brother?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And how was that?" There was also a lot of emphasis on that, that.  
  
"Peachy."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, what?"  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well, what?"  
  
"Are you two now an item." Funny that wasn't even a question, more a statement of fact.  
  
"Mother, Charlie is just a friend of mine. Nothing more."  
  
"Oh that's wonderful dear! From what you've told me, he seems like such a nice young man!"  
  
"Mother, I repeat, Charlie and I are friends. This is a reality you must accept no matter how much you may prefer your delusions."  
  
"Charlie is such a nice name and ordinary! Normally you go for guys named after weather, months or redundant things like trays."  
  
"This coming from a woman who named her children after birds."  
  
"And he has a child doesn't he? A family man!"  
  
"Mother," I was annoyed.  
  
"He'll be good for you my dear. You need someone sturdy and grounded."  
  
"Mother, just because." I desperately tried to shut her up, but she didn't seem willing to let me do so.  
  
"You've finally gone with someone that is good for you and can support himself!"  
  
"MOTHER!" Forget annoyed, I was insulted and furious!  
  
"Maybe you'll even give me some Grandkids!" It was at this point I took the phone away from my ear and looked at it like it had turned into a neon pink leopard printed elephant.  
  
"Sparrow? Sparrow! SPARROW?!" quickly putting the phone back to my ear, I prepared to speak my piece.  
  
"Mother, you really have lost it. I should have had you committed years ago."  
  
"Dear(."  
  
"I'll say this only one more time. Charlie and I are FRIENDS."  
  
"Dear(." There was an annoyed quality to her voice now (see how she liked it).  
  
"NEVER have I, nor will I ever have ANY feelings for Mr. Thomas other then those of friendship for as long as I breathe on this earth!" I jerkily rearranged my pillow, before lying my head back down on it. "And now I am going to bed. Good morning mother." Her last words to me before I turned the stupid phone off were a little too ominous for my liking.  
  
"Dear, never say never."  
  
Meanwhile at the Thomas house  
  
"Don't get lost on the way to the door? DAD! That's pathetic!" Charlie Thomas was filling his daughter in on the previous days dealings, while enjoying an early breakfast.  
  
"You know she said the same thing." Charlie calmly took a sip of his coffee and smiled at the petite red head that sat across from him.  
  
"Good. That kind of response should be curbed as quickly as possible, so as to not allow it to be repeated again in an environment were it is neither wanted, appropriate or easily forgiven."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Mrs. Carr always says that when I tell Billy he's an idiot."  
  
"Mac!"  
  
"Well he is!"  
  
"What you think is beside the point. You don't say people are idiots. It's mean!"  
  
"So we should all pretend he isn't? Isn't that mean?"  
  
"There is a difference and you know it. I don't want to hear you calling Billy an idiot. Got it?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Now we have to go see how your Aunt Kristy is." Charlie rose from the table and put his plate in the sink.  
  
"Yah, yah hold on. What happened after that anyway?"  
  
" We managed to talk the man into giving us his keys, Sparrow promptly lost them and I shoved her into a pond." Charlie opened the side door. The girl turned and looked at her father in disbelief.  
  
"And you're telling me to be nicer to people! At least I'm not pushing them into ponds!"  
  
"It was an accident that sort of wasn't."  
  
"Now that made sense."  
  
"Funny, when you say it, it does. Come on we're going to be late." Charlie shoved his daughter out the door and turned to lock it.  
  
"I hope you at least helped her out of the pond." Mac missed the blush that crept over her father's face at that statement.  
  
End of whatever chapter this is.  
  
Lizzie: Well I suppose you could call Sparrow good!  
  
MBCBROCKS: thanks 


	8. The Wedding

Thanks for the reviews! Gosh I hate this chapter!  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing and really mean it this time.  
  
Chapter 8 (?)  
  
Can You Hear the Bells?  
  
Nicholas Thomas twirled his bride in his arms. Kristin Thomas who had officially become Mrs. Thomas only mere hours ago was absolutely beaming at him. Her best friend, Mary Anne Morgan was sitting at a table hearing the events of the last week from her daughter. George Morgan smiled lovingly at his wife as she gave him the evil eye over hearing about more then a few late nights. Elizabeth and Watson Brewer were lost in a memory of their own wedding while they waltzed about. Stacey McGill was laughing loudly because of something Sam Thomas had said, while Jessica Ramsey with enviable grace danced with her intended. Everyone seemed to have someone. Except for a woman who was currently taking those couples photos with envious eyes. And a man who was smiling quietly to himself, while watching his laughing daughter twirl about on the dance floor. Could perhaps these two lonely souls find one and other? Could that loneliness be transformed into love? Oh I think so.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
"Kristy you look amazing!" The bride looked at herself in the mirror with a petrified expression.  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this."  
  
"What? Marrying a man that is perfect for you, a man that willingly puts up with your big mouth, bossy personality and your fashion sense? Who in fact sees all of these horrifying faults of yours as endearing? You're right Kristy you are completely and totally out of your mind." Abby grabbed the bouquet of white lilies as she said this and put them in her old friend's shaking hands.  
  
"Do you have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue? asked Stacey while she readjusted Kristy's veil.  
  
"I don't know, do I?"  
  
"Yes Kristy you do. Your necklace is over a hundred years old. Your dress is new and your pearl earrings you borrowed from me. I wore them on my wedding day. And sticking with tradition started by your mother, your underwear is blue."  
  
"Oh good."  
  
"What about the six-pence in the shoe?" asked Dawn.  
  
"Will a quarter do?" said Sparrow with a camera in one of her hands. With the other she pulled a quarter out of her pocket.  
  
"I think it will." Mallory smiled at them all while twirling her own wedding ring around her finger.  
  
It had been decided that the wedding party would be small. Kristy had three bridesmaids (Mary Anne, Karen and Emily Michelle) while Nick had his three for groomsmen. The wedding was mere minutes from starting. Kristy was in the kitchen pacing like an expectant father. Mary Anne and Elizabeth were following her along trying to calm her down, while Karen and Emily Michelle just watched them amused. Sparrow was everywhere taking photo's, while many of the BSC were performing small details for the ceremony. Charlie Thomas was sitting in the front seat in the back yard of the Brewer house with the rest of the guests and family.  
  
"Kristy, you need to stop pacing and calm down."  
  
"I can't, so don't even ask me to. I have no idea how either of you did this," said Kristy referring to her mother and Mary Anne.  
  
"By remembering the men who we were marrying and the future we were going to create together."  
  
"Is it a bad thing that every time I think of Nick and the future I want to throw up? And where did you read that line? O magazine?"  
  
Meanwhile in the backyard.  
  
Sparrow O'Connelly focused her camera in on the face of Charlie Thomas. Remembering the dream of last night she smiled. CLICK. Perhaps she'd keep that one. At that moment the groomsmen came out with the Priest. It was show time. Sparrow quickly voomed away from Charlie and started snapping away. The flower girl began walking down the isle. She was wearing a peach colored dress that she kept tripping on. CLICK. The bridesmaids came down the isle looking eerily calm dressed in the same peach color as the flower girl. Kristy looking green and less then gorgeous walked down the isle after them on the arm of Watson, while everyone stood up and the wedding march started up. Oh my, though Sparrow, she looks about ready to either puke or run. SNAP! Nick smiled at his bride lovingly despite the fact she looked ready to ride the porcelain bus out of there. When Kristy finally reached Nick, he whispered something in her ear that made her smile.  
  
"Dearly beloved we our gathered here today in the presence of God to join in Holy Matrimony this man and this woman." The ceremony was brief and beautiful. Throughout Kristy got less green and more gorgeous (as brides are supposed to be). By the time the Priest announced that Nick could kiss the bride she was beaming like a headlight at midnight.  
  
(A/N: This is what results when you listen to sappy music and read romance novels at the same time:)  
  
Sparrow smiled at the couples all around her. That smile grew even bigger when she saw Nick and Kristy.  
  
"Well she's finally convinced!" Sparrow jumped a mile in the air in surprise and turned around. There stood Charlie smiling at her and offering a glass of champagne.  
  
"Convinced of what exactly?" Sparrow asked while happily accepting the glass of champagne.  
  
"That she made the right choice in marrying Nick."  
  
"That she did." Sparrow turned and continued watching the bride and groom.  
  
"Why Sparrow that almost sounded envious!"  
  
"It was." Charlie's smile turned almost sympathetic.  
  
"Come on, you'll find someone. Just give it some time." Sparrow turned and looked at him oddly.  
  
"Thank you, Mother."  
  
"Yes, that was a little mother sounding. I blame it on Mac."  
  
"Spoken like a true coward."  
  
"How about a dance? You won't be able to say I'm a coward if I do that."  
  
"HEY!" She said lightly hitting him in the chest. Electricity shot between them. That strange connection from the lets just calls it the "Folding Chair Expedition" formed between them again.  
  
"I heard about what happened at that charity ball. Did you really set fire to his tie?" Charlie asked quietly. There was no comment from Sparrow, but not because she was outraged. He set their champagne glasses down somewhere and led Sparrow out onto the dance floor. And Sparrow's suspicion that his arms were as strong as they had been in her dream was proven true. Many saw them together and wondered. And then laughed at themselves for thinking it, but Charlie and Sparrow were looking into each other's eyes with such great intensity that the impossible didn't seem quite so unbelievable. The song ended. The two stopped dancing, but they didn't move away from one and other.  
  
"See, I didn't set you on fire," said Sparrow quietly as her hands dropped to her side. Charlie said nothing. He just leaned in closer as to kiss her. And just as their lips were going to touch a voice boomed. The two jumped apart from one another blushing.  
  
"All eligible females over to the corner of the lawn! The bride is about to throw the bouquet!"  
  
"Well, I guess that's me."  
  
"Yah! Yah." That last yah was muttered as he watched Sparrow walk away.  
  
"Well, you two were looking mighty cozy up on that dance floor."  
  
"Mom!" Charlie spun around and came face to face with Elizabeth.  
  
"I have to admit I wouldn't have thought Sparrow."  
  
"Mom."  
  
"But, I guess it's just like they say. Opposites attract."  
  
"It's not like that."  
  
"She'll be good for you Charlie. You need more chaos in your life."  
  
"Mom there is nothing going on between us and I doubt there ever will be."  
  
"Charlie, never say never." And with that she winked at him and went to talk to Sam.  
  
That sounded ominous, he thought. He turned to look at Sparrow again. She was standing a little to the right of Kristy, who held a bouquet in her hands. He watched as his little sister tossed it. He smiled as the mob of females all lunged for it. He laughed when it flew squarely into the face of Sparrow. He saw his mother's pointed look and he gulped before going in search of alcohol.  
  
The rest of the evening wore on. Nick's great Uncle Albert got really drunk and started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" at the top of his lungs. His wife eventually dragged him off to sleep it off. Kristy and Nick cut the cake. The Groom thrust his piece of cake right into his bride's eye. Kristy's laughter could have been heard in outer space. Eventually it was time for them to go. Running amid showering of birdseeds they headed for the car and drove off for their honeymoon in Hawaii. And like all good things, it had to end. Charlie took his sleeping child home, Sparrow and her camera headed right for bed in the Brewer mansion and the rest of the guests followed suit.  
  
The next afternoon Sparrow was scheduled to go back to New York. Course when one is up late and had been drinking, you have a tendency to sleep in. Consequently Sparrow had little if no time to pack.  
  
"Where did I put that damn cell phone!?"  
  
"Sparrow it's right over here!"  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
"You better get going or you're going to miss your train!"  
  
"I know, I know, I know. Actually you know what I know? This wouldn't have happened if you were going with me Mary Anne!" Sparrow stuffed the last of her clothes into her orange suitcase and ran out the guest room door. She said a quick goodbye to the Brewer's and her old friend. (Mary Anne was staying an extra week to visit with Dawn and her folks) Quickly Sparrow and Watson headed to the train station. They got there with a whole ten minutes to spare. She took one minute to say thanks and bye to Watson who returned the sentiment. Heading for her train, Sparrow's mind once again went back to the night before. Subconsciously her hand started shifting through her shoulder bag looking for a mint. Finding one she popped it into her mouth and went to climb onto her train.  
  
"Wait! Sparrow! Turning quickly she found herself face to face with Charlie  
  
"Charlie what the heck?" He didn't answer her, instead he leaned in and kissed her.  
  
"I wanted to do that for a long time now. I hope you don't mind." Sparrow stood there dumbfounded for a second.  
  
" I have to get on the train now." Then she did something as unexpected as Charlie. She leaned in and kissed him back. "Goodbye." Charlie was still standing there when the train pulled away five minutes later. In his mouth was a mint.  
  
Review Responses  
  
Abby123: Thanks for the great review! 


	9. A Visit to Kristy's

Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed!  
  
I give you two new chapters and I hope you enjoy.  
  
Chapter 9: Charlie  
  
The warm and active days of the summer months eventually gave way to the crisp and fresh ones of fall. Kristy returned from her honeymoon and under her leadership business went on as usual at the magazine. Sparrow had just got back from a trip to Morocco and had not spoken to Charlie since that startling kiss. That was to change tonight.  
  
Kristy with a critical eye was looking over some of the photo's Sparrow had shot for the next issue when her intercom buzzed.  
  
"Mrs. Thomas?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Merriam?" said Kristy distractedly as she took one of the shots and held it away from her.  
  
"Your brother is here." The editor-in-chief dropped the picture and looked at the intercom strangely.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"You have more then one, Ma'am?"  
  
"Four of them Mrs. Merriam. In fact you've met them all."  
  
"Really? Are the rest of them as cute as this one?"  
  
"Not at all," replied Kristy flippantly.  
  
"Oh, well that's why ma'am." Kristy looked at the intercom and smiled, "What do you want me to do with him?"  
  
"Sell him for the best price you can get and keep the money for your trouble." Kristy picked up the picture again and leaned back in her executive chair.  
  
"How about I just avoid all that work and keep him?" suggested Mrs. Merriam, practically purring into the intercom.  
  
"In that case, please send him in."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
Charlie Thomas walked into his sister's office with Mac. The secretary who had opened the door for them winked as he walked by. Mac by "accident" stepped on her toes. She left with a nasty look directed at the girl.  
  
"Ah it's the tall, dark and simple one with his bold, beautiful and blunt daughter I see."  
  
"Nice to see you too Kristy."  
  
"Why are you two bothering me today?"  
  
"We've been shopping, sight seeing and other fun stuff and thought we'd come by to say hello to our favorite aunt and/or sister." He threw his arm around his daughter's shoulders and smiled at her. "Right kid?"  
  
"True for everything else, but the favorite Aunt. The answer to that is no, yes and maybe. "  
  
"I see," said Kristy. "What do I have to do so that I again may be the favorite Aunt in your eyes? Charlie answered instead.  
  
"Well Christmas is mere months away as I have been reminded daily by a certain red headed child and I was hoping to do some Christmas shopping. I had also hoped to prevail on a certain Aunt to baby-sit?"  
  
"That means he'll buy something for you as well Aunt Kristy. And you'll also be my favorite Aunt. It's a win, win." Auntie shot her niece a withering look. Mac innocently beamed back a smile.  
  
"You know I have a better idea. Nick and I could go with you oh brother of mine and show you all the best spots, while Mac can stay with Mary Anne or Sparrow. (A/N okay, okay I know. It's a poor excuse to drag Sparrow into this) At that moment a commotion could be heard outside the closed door.  
  
Ms. O'Connelly please wait!"  
  
"Mrs. Merriam, its Sparrow, NOT Ms. O'Connelly. I am not my mother. Yet."  
  
"Kristy are you done with those photo's?" Sparrow burst into the office in her typical scattered way, taking no notice of the people in the room. "Ah, there they are."  
  
"Hi Sparrow!"  
  
"Hello Mac," replied Sparrow distractedly. She began to look over the photos on the desk. Charlie just starred at her red faced and said nothing. His daughter gave him an odd look.  
  
"You know, I'm not sure about this shot." She held it away just as Kristy had done. "Is there something with the light?" Then something else dawned on Sparrow driving out any thoughts of photos. " If you're here Mac then so must be," Sparrow spun around. "Charlie!"  
  
"Sparrow." The two smiled at each other like maniacs. They were both shuffling their feet awkwardly, while not quite looking into each other's eyes. Kristy looked at them with a raised eyebrow, while Mac just shot them both confused looks.  
  
"I'm not either," said Kristy deciding to break the odd silence that had been going on between her friend and brother. She was definitely going to have to find out what that was about tonight.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The photo Sparrow."  
  
"Right. Yes. I think I have a better one."  
  
"Good. Show it to me by the end of the day."  
  
"Right." Smiling at everyone Sparrow went to make her exit.  
  
"Wait Sparrow!" cried Kristy thinking about the conversation they had just had.  
  
"Yah Charlie? Er, I mean Kristy," Sparrow said a little too late. Kristy looked at Sparrow as though she had completely lost her mind.  
  
"Can you baby-sit tonight?" said Kristy deciding to drop it now and corner her brother tonight to get the whole story.  
  
"I have the Flocking later, but you're welcome to come Mac."  
  
"Thanks, but what's the floc-"  
  
"Perfect. Charlie can pick her up there," said Kristy cutting off her Niece. "We'll drop her by at the end of the day."  
  
"Great! Anyway, I have to get back to work. I'll see you later Kid." Sparrow winked at the girl and headed out of the office.  
  
"Wait! What's the Flocking?" said Mac as she ran after Sparrow.  
  
"You'll see," was the only answer she got.  
  
"Was anybody going to ask my opinion on this?" asked Charlie.  
  
"No," replied both Mac and Kristy.  
  
Later that day.  
  
"I beg you be civil."  
  
"Course I will Dad, I like Sparrow."  
  
"I wish you'd like your baby-sitters."  
  
"Yes, I know you would."  
  
Charlie Thomas quickly hugged his child goodbye and headed out of the door. Mac didn't miss the backward glance he gave Sparrow, nor did the girl they were directed at.  
  
"Just give me three seconds Mac and we'll be out of here." Mac watched a slightly red Sparrow shuffle through her desk. A thought that both pleased and disturbed her came into her mind.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Home, so I can dump this and then over to the Flocking. Ready?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Oh good, now all I have to do is remember were I left my keys."  
  
"What is the flocking anyway?"  
  
"I'd tell you, but I wouldn't want to scare you. Where are those damn keys!"  
  
"There in your hand."  
  
"So they are. Let's go."  
  
"Do you do that a lot?"  
  
"No." Mac knew she was lying, but wondered if it wasn't just due to absentmindedness like usual. 


	10. The Flocking

Once again thanks to those who reviewed!  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
The Flocking!  
  
Sparrow's POV  
  
Flockings. They are the one constant in my life. Every month my family regroups at my sister's café, The Bird's Birch in New York City. We tell people that ask that it's just are way to stay in contact with one and other, much like there own family reunions. But the reality is quite different you see. For the "Flocking" is really just an excuse to find out dirt about your siblings. Which is then used to interfere in each other's lives with. Jay my eldest brother says it's "to keep our lives interesting." And here I was about to go into this festering gossip pit of family with Mac, daughter of Charlie. Charlie whom my family feels is engaged to me. Charlie who they feel is perfect for me. Charlie of whom they have never met, but somehow think they know everything about. Charlie of such great character that he is even willing to put up with me. When Kristy asked if I could look after the kid, I was so flustered I actually agreed. And so here I am bringing them even more ammo to shoot me with. But why dwell on it? I can't change it. Sort of like those kisses  
  
Oh Charlie not of their delusions, thank God they don't know about those kisses. They'd have a field day. You smelled nice. Like the autumn and strawberry lip palm. Your sparkling eyes like the sun reflecting off water looked deep into my own. Your arms that guided me as we danced were the only things holding me up. Your long elegant fingers (that I was tempted to break after you helped me out of the pond you threw me in) messed up my hair. Sigh.  
  
"Uh, Sparrow? You all right?" I came out of my daydream/memories and realized I was in a taxi with Mac, daughter of Charlie. The man I had just been fantasying about. I smiled at her in a way I'm sure made me look insane and desperately tried to come up with a reason for the sigh.  
  
"Fantastic! How about you?" I said deciding to evade the question all together. I lightly hit her knee and chuckled.  
  
"Uh, good. Anyway, are you going to explain about the Flocking or am I just going to have to wing it?"  
  
"No, I suppose I can't be that cruel. You Mac are sadly being bestowed the unlucky luck of meeting my family."  
  
"COOL!"  
  
"Yes, you say that now. But just you wait."  
  
"That sounds ominous."  
  
"It was meant to and who taught you that word?" '  
  
"Grandma."  
  
"SPARROW! Did you do something with your hair?" my poor hairstylist sister- in-law. I think she thinks if she says that enough times it will actually be true.  
  
"No, still that same mess as ever."  
  
"Sparrow, Dr. Seuss or Shakespeare? Dr. Seuss right?" This argument has been going on for a very long time between Lark and Robin. Most times everyone ignores that question, for if you don't either Lark or Robin will argue with you until you threatened to smash their heads in with a frying pan. But as I was trying to create as much distraction as I could, I answered for once.  
  
"Dr. Seuss of course!"  
  
"Uncle Sparrow, I lost another tooth!" That'd be Andrea, who always calls me Uncle for some reason.  
  
"Wow! Let me see."  
  
Hello, sister dear, who's this?" Oriole the younger mini-clone of my Mother asked while appraising Mac.  
  
"A friends daughter. I volunteered to baby-sit."  
  
"Well let me tell you something about that," was Lark's greeting to me. I'm assuming he was talking about the Dr. Seuss comment. Fortunately another family member cut him off from speaking further. Unfortunately it was my Mother.  
  
"My baby, your finally here! Why are you late? Who's this? Is it Mac? Did you bring Charlie? Where is he?" It occurred to me that Oriole still had a lot to learn from my mother. But that would come in the years. She'd slowly start losing her sanity and then it'd finally go in one fallow swoop when she turned fifty.  
  
"Drink?" asked Jay my savior. I happily accepted the martini from him. Taking a sip, I surveyed the room. Everyone was there, every last one of my nosy, loud and insane siblings. As well as their significant others and their leader and God. My Mother.  
  
"Who's the kid and what's she doing here?" Lark asked ever so eloquently.  
  
"Who her?"  
  
"Who else could I mean?"  
  
"Someone on the street?"  
  
"Sparrow for once in your life directly answer a question I ask you."  
  
"No." That confused him. One second he looked appeased and then the next mad. Then he just got more confused. He didn't know what to do. It was highly amusing. His face finally contorted into an ugly sneer and went purple, which was less amusing.  
  
"MOTHER!" Now that was frightening. Time to leave, I believe. Sheesh for someone named after a Lark; he sure didn't have the disposition of one. He was glaring daggers at Mac and I, while my Mother had that crazed seen red look in her eyes. And Mac was the red.  
  
"Come on, Ma-kid. Let me introduce you to Raven who just happens to be over on the other side of the room." I meant to push her in that direction, but she wouldn't move. I looked down. Mac was glaring right at Lark. And if looks could kill, Lark would have been dead, mashed up and sold as Soylent Green to the masses, I should think.  
  
"My name is Michaela, sir. I suggest you use it." And once again my dear brother had made himself an enemy. And if the stories I had heard were true, a powerful one at that. She let me steer her away this time. I gave Lark and my Mother a warning look, which I'm pretty sure, went unheeded.  
  
Raven was sitting in a booth working on a crossword puzzle with his wife, Lily. He was dressed in a black suit that matched his black hair. He looked every inch the professional and successful lawyer he was. Raven was the head of the O'Connelly law firm in New York City. He had started with Jay after he had graduated from Harvard. Lily smiled as we approached giving a clear view of her pierced tongue and motioned for us to sit down.  
  
"Greetings kid and other kid. Who might you be dear?" asked Raven whose head was still behind his newspaper that had the crossword in it.  
  
"Mac, sir."  
  
"Nice to meet you. Do you know the middle name of the lead actress in the movie Soul's Core?"  
  
"Can't say as though I do sir." SLAM went the newspaper onto the table. Mac and I jumped about three feet in the air.  
  
"Damn." There was a pause. "Don't call me sir. I'm not my father. Yet."  
  
"What do you want me to call you then?"  
  
"Anything but annoying."  
  
"So basically anything but the truth." I said to Mac while taking another sip of my drink.  
  
"With such a tongue like yours Sparrow and your ability to never give a straight answer, you really should have become a politician."  
  
"Then I would have had to shoot myself."  
  
"Wait a second. Mac did you say? As in daughter of Charlie?" It was unfortunately at this moment I had taken a more then polite swallow of my martini. I choked on it and began coughing.  
  
"Yah, how do you know about my Dad?" asked Mac quite rightly surprised. I started coughing real loud at this point, but sadly to no avail.  
  
"Honey everyone knows about your Dad." Red alert, red alert! Danger, Sparrow O'Connelly, danger!  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because-," and with a great deal of effort I croaked out,  
  
"Because of your Aunt Kristy, Mac. She came with me once and talked about you guys."  
  
"Oh." I collapsed my head on the table. My relief was short lived though.  
  
"Does she not know yet Sparrow?" God damn stupid and dumb brothers that can't take the hint!  
  
"Know what?" asked Mac curiously.  
  
"Nothing kid, come on let's find a booth."  
  
"Why?" was the only protest she got out before I hauled her off to another booth.  
  
"Nice and quiet here isn't it? Want something to drink?" I tried to distract her from the question I knew was coming.  
  
"What was he talking about? What haven't you told me?"  
  
"Indeed what haven't I told you." I let the sentence hang in the air.  
  
"Does this have to do with my Dad?" I choked on my own spit, didn't even need the drink this time.  
  
"I haven't told you about my family," was the answer I came up with.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It has to do with everything."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Let's start at the beginning shall we?"  
  
"What beginning?" I ignored her, puled out a mint and popped it into my mouth.  
  
"I was born the youngest of a brood of eight," I began. " My father was a photographer like me and my mother was the stay at home type. We were those neighbors everybody avoided. Life was good. That was until Jay, my eldest brother became of marrying age. My brother is the guy over there serving out the drinks. He's a lawyer in a firm with Raven. On the side he writes romance novels. Hasn't sold one story yet, but still has hope. Anyway, Jay became the marrying age of 24. It turns out my Mother's mission in life was to see us married and with kids. Forget happiness forget success. She wanted grandkids. And we were going to provide or suffer the consequences. He got married when he was 25 dutifully. His wife is the one beside him. Her names Jane and they have two children, Andrea and Martin. Raven soon enough became of marrying age and the vicious cycle started all over again. Raven met Lily who was a struggling musician with blue hair and more then one piercing. My mother loved her. They were married at 25 as well. By 27 they had Phil. Then came Lark and Diana, Robin and Cheryl, Crane and Rinn, Oriole and Mark. They all have kids. But it wasn't enough for my Mother. She still had two more of her own kids to go. Kea succumbed, to my horror and married Maria at 25 as well. I soon found myself the soul receiver of my mother's attentions. My 24th birthday came and went then my 25, 26, 27, 28 and finally my 29th. My Mother was heartbroken and getting desperate. At every wedding she would nag that that could be me, on the phone whenever I mentioned a man's name she asked if we were dating. It's been terrible."  
  
"Your Mother thinks you're with Dad doesn't she?"  
  
"You're a smart kid and right."  
  
"Well are you?" Again unfortunately had drink in mouth. This time though it didn't stay in my mouth or throat. I sprayed Mac right in the face. To her credit she didn't scream bloody murder (must have got her fathers calm gene).  
  
"Is that a yes?"  
  
"No! Maybe. No" Using a napkin and not looking at Mac, I wiped up the spill.  
  
"Are you sure? Cause what was going on in Aunt Kristy's office?"  
  
"Nothing exactly."  
  
"I think you should think about this more and then tell me your answer."  
  
"Good idea, I think. Who told you that anyway?"  
  
"My Dad says that all the time."  
  
"The understanding stereotype, I see." I couldn't help smiling when I said this.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Later that evening Mac introduced herself to my nieces and nephews and they all scampered off to play and talk. I visited the rest of my family and was having a pleasant time of it.  
  
Around 7 I found myself sitting with Kea.  
  
"So, anything going on with you and this Charlie bloke?"  
  
"Oh Kea not you to. I thought you were above Mothers control."  
  
"First off kid, no one is above Mum's control not even you. And second I'm only asking to get the story straight. If you tell me that absolutely nothing is going on, then I will believe you and I'll drop the subject."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"REALLY?!" Oh Lord, I shouldn't have said that.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"What exactly does that mean?"  
  
"I DON'T KNOW!"  
  
"Huh?" And I spilled my guts. Hysterical like.  
  
"We were just good friends Kea! Then we got folding chairs and he threw me in a pond. And there was a second there, just a second. But then he pulled away. And I just brushed it aside as a one-time thing. But then there was the dance and the almost kiss. Then there was the actual kiss at the train station. And I kissed him back. And it was just WOW.  
  
"Start from the being Sparrow." So I did. When I finished the whole tale he had the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.  
  
"Well who'd have thunk it? Sparrow the anti-serious relationship girl is in love! With a single father at that! It sounds like one of Jay's romance stories!" I half expected myself to start screaming denials, but I didn't. Instead I admitted the truth.  
  
"Yah, I know."  
  
"Wow. This is serious," his tone was awed. I gave him a withering look.  
  
"How do you deduce that? I barely know the guy."  
  
"You gave a straight answer to a personal question." That was both true and startling. "You have to call this guy, Sparrow." I could think of only one word to say to that.  
  
"Oih."  
  
"Oih nothing!"  
  
"Look I don't even know what he thinks of this relationship."  
  
"Sparrow, I quote " I have wanted to do that for a long time now." And then he kissed you! People do not say things such as that and kiss people when they feel nothing!  
  
"Yes, they do!"  
  
"True, but from what I can figure from how you've described this guy, he doesn't seem like the type that whispers sweet nothing into girls ears and kisses them when he isn't serious about it."  
  
"Oih."  
  
"Quit saying that! Now phone this guy up before it's too late and tell him you want to go for cocktails or something"  
  
"He's out shopping with Kristy."  
  
"Phone his cell phone."  
  
"He doesn't have a cell phone." That blew him away more then anything else I said that night.  
  
As it turned out, a certain someone came to pick up his daughter half an hour I said that. When Kea heard my gulp he turned to where I was looking.  
  
"Is that him?"  
  
"Yes." For some reason I couldn't get up to meet him.  
  
My mother stopped in mid-conversation with Oriole and went pelting for the door when she caught site of him.  
  
"Are you Charlie Thomas, dear?" she asked approaching him.  
  
"It depends on who wants to know." And you don't want her to know Charlie, I thought panicky to myself.  
  
"Dad!" Mac ran to her father and hugged him. "What did you buy me?"  
  
"Isn't that suppose to be a surprise?"  
  
"No," he laughed and to my horror so did my Mother. When she stopped she smiled up at him with an almost calculating look. Then she got another look on her face and she directed that look at me. It could only be defined as, What a Perfect Man and Why aren't YOU Married Producing Other Kids With said Perfect Man Yet look. As well as a little bit of Good Catch Dear and He MUST be a Complete Saint to take you. I was horrified. "Thanks for letting her come to your Flocking was it?" he said being the polite person he was.  
  
"Oh it was no problem dear. We loved having her here. We hope she'll stop by again, she fit in so well. Isn't that right everyone." To my ever- lasting horror everyone hastily agreed with her, even Kea and Jay.  
  
"Great," said Charlie who then shot me a, What The Hell is Going On look.  
  
"Charlie," I said. " You must be real tired, so we won't keep you. Mac it was lovely seeing you." And with that I tried to shove both of them out the door while trying not to make it seem like I was rudely shoving them out the door. I didn't even try to talk to Charlie.  
  
"Nonsense! Come in and have a drink! I don't even think poor Mac here got to finish her game with Conrad!"  
  
"Please Dad?"  
  
"All right." I desperately tried to come up with an excuse of why they couldn't stay, but couldn't come up with anything that was not complete ludicrous. Before I knew it my Mother had her talons in Charlie's arm and was dragging him over to Kea and I. The rest of my family followed them.  
  
"Jay make this man a martini! Have a seat, have a seat. So tell us about yourself." Charlie hesitantly took a seat and shot me that what the hell is going on look again, while surveying my family as they swarmed around us.  
  
"What would you like to know?"  
  
"What do you do for a living?  
  
"I'm a High school English teacher."  
  
"Wonderful!" I cringed at the pitch. I felt real bad for any dogs in a five-mile radius of us.  
  
"What do you do in your spare time?"  
  
"I coach a kids soft ball team."  
  
My Mothers smile to that statement provided some competition for the sun. The next question my Mother asked was in her typical nosy blunt style. It also caused me both a major and minor heart attack.  
  
"When did you and Sparrow get together? And how? My daughter has been ridiculously tight lipped about it!" I'll admit this was not the most embarrassing moment in my life, but it sure had to be in the top ten. Maybe right between the falling from the water tower incident and setting fire to the Brewer's house. Now the next thing that happened maybe was.  
  
(A/N It's an unexpected perspective switch! Oh Yah! Let's see what's going on in Charlie's head! )  
  
Charlie's POV  
  
I swirled my head to look at Sparrow so quickly I think I pulled a muscle. What the hell had she told her mother? Under my stare she turned bright red and I really began to wonder. I had never seen Sparrow blush before. Did Sparrow think we were together? How the hell did she get that? We'd kissed, she'd left and we hadn't seen or talked to one and other for a month. But that last kiss. I realized while I had been thinking everyone had been looking at me, waiting for a reply. I couldn't answer them. And I suddenly realized I wanted to. Ignoring everyone else I bluntly asked,  
  
"Are we together?" Sparrow turned as red as her hair.  
  
"I don't know. Are we?" she answered. One of her brothers sighed loudly and put his head in his hands. I would have wondered what that was about, but was too nervous about what I was about to say.  
  
"Do you want to be?" She just looked at me. And looked and looked. A full two minutes went by without her saying something. Everyone in the room was looking at her now. I guess that was my answer. "Mac, come on we have to go." I got up and left with a protesting Mac. That last bit of hope I had for us finally died.  
  
Back to Sparrow.  
  
I watched him walk out. I didn't try to stop him. I don't know why. I should have.  
  
"SPARROW! What the heck!" I turned my gaze away from the now closed door and turned it to Kea.  
  
"Yes?" Kea's green eyes flashed.  
  
"What do you mean yes? Go out and tell him the truth!"  
  
"What's the truth?" asked my Mother.  
  
"That she does like him."  
  
"I knew it!" My eyes snapping in anger glared at my mother.  
  
"Mother, don't even say anything."  
  
"I will say something! You're being ten kinds of idiot. Some gorgeous single father wants to know if you would like to go out with him! And YOU sat there looking as dumb as a goldfish Sparrow! Do you want to be happy?"  
  
"I am happy!"  
  
"You could be happier. With him." The rest of my family was watching this drama unfold like a ping pong match. Their heads kept turning toward mother and I with each exchange of words.  
  
"Mother you really are delusional."  
  
"Stop it Sparrow and listen to me for once."  
  
"No," and with that I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. I got back to my apartment and was met with a snore from Robin. Sighing, I got ready for bed. As I was brushing my teeth I couldn't help not regretting listening. Actually I regretted a lot of things I did that night and bringing Mac was not one of them. Disgusted with myself I quickly popped a mint into my mouth, grabbed my coat and headed for the train station.  
  
Charlie's POV.  
  
Mac and I were about to board the train when I heard someone call out my name. I turned and saw something that made my heart leap. Sparrow was plowing her way towards us with a frantic look on her face.  
  
"Charlie I have tell you something."  
  
"What?" She kissed me instead of answering. And this wasn't just any kiss folk's. This was a fire works going off, blurring colors, weak in the knee's kiss. Breaking away she whispered in my ear.  
  
"Yes, I do. If you still want to of course." Well better late then never I suppose. My answer to her was to lay another kiss on her.  
  
"Why didn't you answer me at the restaurant?"  
  
"You know how Kristy is as cool as a cucumber when it comes to the professional, but not so much with the personal? The same can be said for me. It's one of the reasons why we stayed friends for so long and not enemies well, that and the Mets. Go Mets! I couldn't help it I laughed.  
  
"Sparrow?" We both turned to my daughter who was looking at us (to my relief) with a smile, though a little dazed and surprised one. "I guess you thought some more."  
  
"Yah. I did. Thanks for the advice kid."  
  
"Your welcome."  
  
"What was that about?" I asked  
  
"Nothing. Look you have to catch your train. I'll come out this next coming weekend." Reluctantly I agreed. Giving one last kiss to Sparrow, Mac and I boarded the train and waved as the train pulled away. We didn't stop until we couldn't see her anymore.  
  
End of whatever chapter this is. 


	11. Pavement and Snow

Disclaimer: Own nothing.  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed! I'm sorry for the late update and I'll apologize right now for this chapter. BAH!  
  
Chapter 11? 10? 12?  
  
Title: Pavement and Snow.  
  
Sparrow O'Connelly as she said she would, had come to Stoneybrook that weekend. It was the beginning of November and the first great snow had just fallen.  
  
Sparrow looked over the mounds of snow that at one point, had been Charlie Thomas's driveway. She then looked at the small, plastic shovel in her hand and began to doubt how something this small was a threat to the white monster that ate the driveway.  
  
"I think I'm regretting volunteering to help."  
  
"Have you really never shoveled snow in your life?" Charlie asked in disbelief.  
  
"Not once, but I'm getting the feeling I'll be making up for that. Quickly."  
  
"I would suggest that you do a couple of stretches before hand, then."  
  
"So," asked Charlie 15 minutes later, "what's your favorite color?"  
  
"What?" asked Sparrow in mid-toss.  
  
"What's your favorite color?"  
  
"Green, what's yours?"  
  
"Green," he answered promptly.  
  
"Well wasn't that interesting."  
  
"Very." Silence fell between the two. Ever since Sparrow had come out that weekend, neither had been able to have a conversation that wasn't awkward.  
  
"Where's Mac anyway?"  
  
"Gone to her friends house."  
  
"Um." Silence reined. A half-hour later Sparrow had enough. Whether that was enough of the awkwardness or the shoveling, who knows? Packing some snow into her hands, Sparrow launched it right at Charlie's unsuspecting head. As luck would have it, he was just turning around. It smashed right into his face and exploded in white cold wetness. Charlie just stood there, as the snow melted on his face and dripped down the front of his coat. "Bingo!" cried Sparrow while doing a small jig in triumph. Charlie continued to stand there looking at the photographer. He did not show shock, nor annoyance. His face was just eerily blank. "Beep, beep," Sparrow said pinching his nose twice in hopes of getting a reaction from him. He continued to stand there. Blankly. It was quite unnerving. Sparrow finally snapped her fingers in front of his face, concerned. He still did nothing. Just as the girl was wondering what the heck she was going to do, he sprung, grabbed Sparrow, threw her into a snow bank and started shoveling snow onto her, all before she could even say "ahh." He had only got a few good shovels on Sparrow before she grabbed his leg, and with strength Charlie didn't think she had, toppled him onto the snow bank with her. The shovel went flying into the air and landed out of reach of the pair. What resulted was a snow fight worthy of any eight-year-old.  
  
"TRUCE!" yelled Sparrow just as Charlie was about to dump a handful of snow down her coat.  
  
"So, you officially proclaim yourself loser, defeated and chicken?" asked Charlie. His face looked much like Mac's did, when one of her Dad's dates told her she looked like a little angel, when the reality was Mac had just fixed it, so that the woman's 300 hundred dollar shoes stuck to the floor. Sparrow looked at the snow in Charlie's hand, poised to dump and wondered if it was worth it.  
  
"NO!" Sparrow tried to make a fruitless run for it, but Charlie had too tight a grip on her. He unceremoniously dumped the snow down her jacket. "COLD! COLD! EVIL, EVIL MAN!" In her crazy dance to get the snow out of her jacket and onto the ground, were she could take much relish in stepping on it, she slipped and went nose first into the pavement. She didn't even try to stop her downward descend. There was a nasty sounding crunch! That made Charlie wince. There was only a muffled "ow," from Sparrow.  
  
"Sparrow, are you all right?" asked Charlie as he helped her up.  
  
"Ow," was her only reply. It was at this point that Charlie got a good look at Sparrow's nose.  
  
"I think we may need to take a little trip to the emergency room."  
  
"Ow."  
  
Apparently a lot of people had been suffering injuries due to snow as well, even worse then a broken nose. As a result Sparrow and Charlie were forced to wait.  
  
"Why the hell didn't you try to stop yourself?"  
  
"I don't know, I just don't. Lark always use to tease me, saying I had the reflexes of a sloth. Wish I had, had the claws as well, then I could have slashed his arrogant little face into the ground! The little pompous--"  
  
"Sparrow O'Connelly," called out a nurse, effectively stopping Sparrow's violent descriptive usage.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
"Here, have some tea." Sparrow accepted it gladly. Her bandaged nose was throbbing. After accepting it she continued looking around Charlie's living room. She saw a picture on one of the couches side tables.  
  
"Is that Jen?" Sparrow, pointing to a photo that had a woman holding a baby in her arms in it.  
  
"Yah, that's Jen," answered Charlie quietly. Jen, Charlie's first wife had died in a car crash a year after Mac was born.  
  
"Mac looks like her."  
  
"Only in appearance, I assure you," said Charlie smiling as he picked up the photo.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I love my daughter, but even I have to admit she's manipulative, blunt and a little evil." Sparrow laughed at that. "Jen on the other hand was quiet, patient, timid--."  
  
"Well she would have had to have been, if she was married to you, " said Sparrow taking a mint from her bag and dropping it into her tea.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"So, how did you get Mac's temperament then?"  
  
"No idea," Charlie put the picture back down.  
  
"Blame it on your family, it's the one thing all families are good for." He smiled at that.  
  
"What about you?" he asked while taking a seat beside her.  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"Do you blame your temperament on your family, much like everything else?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose I do. I take after Mother, I should think. But, I delude myself into thinking I'm like my Father. He was a photographer as well. The rest of me, I blame on my Mother for driving me to it."  
  
"She didn't seem that bad, just a little pushy."  
  
"Yah, but that doesn't mean she's not insane and besides you're not family yet, something my Mother desperately wants remedied and that means so does everyone else in her little army she's created with the rest of my family, so just to warn you."  
  
"I see," said Charlie a little uncomfortably. Sparrow couldn't believe she had said that out loud and regretted taking those painkillers. She looked up at Charlie; meaning to say something to assure him that she wasn't thinking marriage, but his face was mere inches away from her own and she forgot what she was going to say. It was then that she realized she had been leaning against him. He smiled down at her and looked about ready to kiss her, when the door opened.  
  
"Hello! I'm home!" Mac walked into the living room. "What happened to your nose!?" Sparrow smiled at her.  
  
"Well you see, there was this baby stroller--"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
Sparrow smiled to herself and sighed happily as she sat in her seat on the train headed back to New York. She didn't even notice the light throbbing in her heavily bandaged nose. Remembering the weekend she couldn't help but squeal a little. After getting over some awkwardness at the beginning (ironically that awkwardness had been broken with her nose) it had been great. As she was remembering the dinner from last night, her cell phone went off.  
  
"It's a beautiful day isn't it?" greeted Sparrow. I suppose I should mention that the temperature was -13, with freezing rain.  
  
"You went and talked to him, didn't you?" asked Kea.  
  
"Yah."  
  
"And?"  
  
"That's none of your business."  
  
"Fine. I'll just tell Mother--" began Kea smugly.  
  
"Mean," said Sparrow cutting him off.  
  
"Not really. You know there are no secrets in this family."  
  
"A point," said Sparrow.  
  
"Well?" Kea asked.  
  
"I have to go Kea. See you soon." And with that Sparrow turned the phone off.  
  
"I just wanted to tell you Sparrow that, BANG, BANG!"  
  
"That's not what you're suppose to say."  
  
Sparrow awoke from her dream with a start. Someone was pounding on her door. The clock on the bedside table glared 4:00am. "Mother," Sparrow muttered under her breath. Half-awake she went and opened the door. Unfortunately Mrs. O'Connelly had been in mid-knock and ended up pounding Sparrow's all ready broken nose.  
  
"OH SWEET JESUS, MARY, GOD AND JOESPH! OW! OW! OW! OOWW!"  
  
"SPARROW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR NOSE?" Sparrow was in too much pain to respond, but if her quick glare before her face twisted in pain said anything, it would have been very sarcastic and none too nice. "Let me see dear, let me see."  
  
"Get away, you delusional old woman!" Sparrow managed to scream out.  
  
"Don't talk to me like that young lady! It was an accident!"  
  
"Mother, what do you want?" Sparrow managed to hiss.  
  
"Well, I heard from Kea that you and Charlie made up." Sparrow narrowed her eyes and began to bottle all her pain and rage up inside to later use on her brother.  
  
"Kea is going to DIE."  
  
"Oh quit over dramatizing Sparrow," said Mrs. O'Connelly sitting herself down at one of Sparrow's kitchen chairs. Robin with Batman on his head trotted over to Sparrow's mother. "Hello boys." Mrs. O'Connelly patted Batman's head lightly, while at the same time rubbed Robin's belly.  
  
"Traitors," hissed Sparrow.  
  
"So, have you dear? And how did you break that nose?"  
  
"What?" asked Sparrow distractedly, looking in the mirror, to see the extent of damage done.  
  
"Made up with Charlie! Please keep up Sparrow!" If looks could kill, Mrs. O'Connelly would have been nothing but dust.  
  
"Mother, it's none of your business!" and she walked over to the door and opened it. " Now get out, it's 4 in the morning! I wanna sleep."  
  
"Is it dear?" Mrs. O'Connelly said looking at her watch. "So, it is! Oh well, you look wide awake!" Sparrow just closed the door and sat down in defeat. Her mother's nosiness was just no match for Sparrow's rage. "Now my dearest, where have you been this weekend?" asked Mrs. O'Connelly.  
  
Her daughter slammed her head into the table, a habit she had developed young, when she was dealing with her Mother. Course, it's a bad idea to do that when ones nose is broken. Mrs. O'Connelly had to wait 10 more minutes before she could find out anything.  
  
"CHARLIE THOMAS, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"  
  
"Hello to you too, Aunt Kristy. Let me get Dad." Mac smiling handed the phone over to her father. That smile grew a bit bigger and a bit more evil, when she heard her father drop the phone in surprise.  
  
"Kristy calm down!"  
  
"How did this happen?" cried Kristy.  
  
"What happen?"  
  
"YOU and SPARROW!"  
  
"Oh that."  
  
"Yes, that! Spill. I'm delighted of course, but I would have loved to have heard it from YOU. "  
  
"Yah, sorry about that, but there is nothing much to say," replied Charlie flippantly.  
  
"Charlie, Do. Not. Try. MY. Patience." Charlie knew this was one of those moments were annoying Kristy was not a good idea. As he was about to launch into the story, Elizabeth walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Charlie, I just got a rather interesting phone call from Kristy. Is it true?" Charlie looked between the phone and his Mother. He sighed.  
  
"Well it all really began when I threw her into a pond--"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ 


	12. Conversations

Thanks to all that reviewed!  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing  
  
Chapter: Something or other.  
  
The Next Year Bar One Month or Something, In Conversation  
  
NOVEMBER:  
  
"Sparrow, you have to go. You're going to miss your train," said Charlie breaking away from the kiss.  
  
"Would that necessarily be a bad thing?"  
  
"Yes, because then you'll be late, get fired from your job--"  
  
"Charlie, I own the magazine. No one can fire me."  
  
"It'll look unprofessional."  
  
"Cause you know, I did before."  
  
"Oh yah," and the two started up again. Charlie broke away a few minutes later.  
  
"Seriously you have to go."  
  
"Fine." And with that Sparrow gave one last kiss and jumped on her train.  
  
DECEMBER:  
  
"I thought she would have stopped by the seventh verse."  
  
"Well, I suppose that's how she's stayed alive this long. She exercises those lungs well." Sparrow chuckled quietly at Charlie's comment while continuing to watch the stage with a slightly glazed expression on her face.  
  
"I never would have thought someone could come up with so many rhymes for eggplants."  
  
"I know. It'd almost be inspiring, but you know its eggplants."  
  
"What did eggplants ever do to you?" asked Charlie while still keeping his eyes on the old lady on the stage. He was only staying awake because he was counting the poka dots on her dress and playing with Sparrow's fingers.  
  
"Nothing, really. It's just that there isn't much to say about them. They're purple and don't taste all that good."  
  
"Well, obvious Mrs. Knight thinks otherwise," stated Charlie.  
  
"Obviously."  
  
"Eggplants are something good to eat! They do not rot your teeth!" Mrs. Knight continued, so enthralled with her poem she didn't notice the glazed look the audience was giving her.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
JANUARY:  
  
"I thought you said AIDA was suppose to be a light hearted play?"  
  
"I thought it was." Charlie stopped walking and looked at his girlfriend. "What?" asked Sparrow.  
  
"How does a race being enslaved purely for greed, were nobody can be who they want, not even the damn royalty and they all must sing about it. A Romeo and Juliet theme, with the two central characters, who don't just buy it quickly and relatively painlessly, but get locked in a TOMB, to die a slow and horrible death, in the dark, be a happy play?"  
  
"It was romantic!" said Sparrow as walked over to Charlie and kissed his outraged mouth.  
  
"I'll be sure to tell you that, if we get locked in a tomb together."  
  
"I think there is relatively a small chance of that there Charlie."  
  
"With you my dear, anything is possible."  
  
"True, but somehow I feel I would work it so you'd be in there by yourself. That or I'd kill you quick and use your dead corpse to pry the lid off."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
FEBUARY:  
  
Sparrow are you sure you're reading that manual right?" Charlie asked while looking up from the scattered, as of yet to be assembled barbecue.  
  
"Course I am. How else could I read it?"  
  
"Wrongly."  
  
"Wrongly. What a horrible word, you shouldn't say it again, it really doesn't suit you."  
  
"Not this again," said Charlie in exasperation.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------  
  
MARCH:  
  
"Sparrow?"  
  
"Yes, kid?"  
  
"Why do you call me kid all the time?" asked Mac while taking a huge bite out of her ice cream sandwich.  
  
"Because of my family," answered Sparrow licking up the peppermint ice cream dripping down the side of her cone. Mac and Sparrow were enjoying a girl's day out.  
  
"You blame a lot of things on your family."  
  
"Yes, and with right. Kid."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
APRIL:  
  
"What spirit serves food on a plane? An airline ghostess!"  
  
"So this is hell. It's worse then I thought it would be," Sparrow continued reading from her ghost joke book, (which in it's self was a joke) oblivious to what her boyfriend had said.  
  
"Here's one for you Mac. What do little ghosts like to play with instead of Frisbees? Boo-merangs!" answered Sparrow with glee before Mac could venture a guess.  
  
"Dad are we close to getting there?" asked Mac desperately.  
  
"Not even close kid. We're only just leaving the 10th level of hell."  
  
"If I repent, can I leave? I repent! I repent!" cried Charlie's daughter desperately.  
  
"Don't forget to mention me."  
  
"Do it yourself!"  
  
"Oh this is a great one!" cried Sparrow ignoring the groans from the other members of the car.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------  
  
MAY:  
  
"Dad, are we suppose to be in Baldour's Point?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then why are we?"  
  
"Cause Sparrow misread something."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
One more hour  
  
"We've arrived!"  
  
"Have we?" asked Mac happily. She liked Sparrow, she really did, but at the moment she wanted to kill her.  
  
"Yep, right back where we were suppose to have been, right before we took that wrong turn. Both Mac and Sparrow hit him alongside the head for that one.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
JUNE:  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You'll lose it."  
  
"No, I won't."  
  
"Yes, you will."  
  
"No, I won't!"  
  
"YES, you will."  
  
"No--"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
JULY:  
  
"Interesting picture there."  
  
"It's a portrait of you."  
  
"Funny, I don't recall having horns." Charlie smiled up at the waitress as she left the check.  
  
"Well, I used some artistic licensing on my part to make you look better. I always did love a man with horns. A point my Mother found quite exasperating to fulfill, when setting me up." Sparrow looked up from her drawing and was going to wink at Charlie, but she caught sight of the mints. All was forgotten. In one fluid movement she dumped the two little mints into her purse and began looking over the bill.  
  
"No, that's okay, I didn't want one."  
  
"Huh?" was Sparrow's intelligent answer.  
  
"A mint," said Charlie.  
  
"Oh, sorry. I'm use to people letting me take them without question. Would you like it back?" Sparrow looked pained when she asked this.  
  
"No, that's fine." Sparrow beamed the biggest smile he'd ever seen on a human being, back at him. What's with you and mints anyway?" he asked.  
  
"Mints are to me, what nicotine is to smokers. I blame it on my family."  
  
"But of course." There was a comfortable silence between the two. "Does this mean 10 years down the line, you're going to be blaming everything on me and Mac?" Sparrow just looked at him. "What?"  
  
"Nothing," she said, "ready to go?"  
  
AUGUST  
  
"Oh come on coach, you can't possibly be serious! Do you even know what you're doing?" Charlie looked up from his clipboard and glared at his girlfriend.  
  
SEPTEMBER:  
  
"Hello, Mac isn't it?"  
  
"Yes." The girl looked at the woman curiously. "Who are you?" Sparrow snorted quietly at the bluntness of the question and the tone used.  
  
"I'm Maggie Mecc, Debbie's Mother!" Mac involuntarily cringed when hearing that name. None the less she managed a, "Oh! Nice to meet you." Which went unheeded when Mrs. Mecc laid her eyes on Sparrow, who was helping Mac shop for new shoes.  
  
"Mrs. Thomas! I don't think we've had the pleasure in meeting! I'm Maggie."  
  
"Sparrow, but actually--"  
  
"What a weird name!"  
  
"Thanks, but actually--"  
  
"I envy you both that red hair! Does that come from Charlie's side or yours?" asked Debbie looking at Sparrow.  
  
"Neither actually, I'm not Mac's mother."  
  
"Oh you're her stepmother? Well isn't that nice. Anyway, you and Mac should come by sometime! We'll have a nice long chat!" said Mrs. Mecc so quickly no one would have any hope of interrupting her. Then just as quickly as she spoke, she was gone. Mac and Sparrow were left to look at each other bewildered. Though neither mentioned it, there was now a bit of awkwardness hanging between the two.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
OCTOBER:  
  
"So, how are things going with your father?" asked Flo, Mac's grandmother on her Mother's side.  
  
"Good. Dad's been real happy. He's been seeing Sparrow for a while now."  
  
"That's good." Flo seemed a bit sad when she said that, but then she shook her head a bit and smiled at her Granddaughter.  
  
"Sparrow, that's a different name isn't it?" asked Bob, Mac's Grandfather.  
  
"Yah. Her brother and sister are all named after birds too. Jay, Raven, Lark, Robin, Crane, Oriole-she's the only other girl- Kea and Sparrow.  
  
"The poor Mother," said Flo while buttering a roll.  
  
"Not really. They're all scared of her. It's quite funny actually," Mac said.  
  
" I see."  
  
"Yup. They're really nice though. Jay--Sparrow's oldest brother, e-mails me all the time. He's really funny. He tells me stories about Sparrow, that he says I can use as blackmail against her."  
  
"Mac!" cried Flo.  
  
"I don't actually do it! I like Sparrow." The two grandparents looked at each other in amazement. Mac was known for torturing her father's dates if she didn't like them and she didn't like many, none in fact.  
  
End of whatever chapter this is.  
  
I just wanted to give some info on Sparrow's family. It may be helpful or not. I don't know. Skim through it if you want.  
  
Sparrow's Family from oldest to youngest  
  
Gwen O'Connelly- Mother of Sparrow, had 8 kids in all. Rules her clan with an iron fist. Very nosy and can be very pushy. Also very scattered brained.  
  
Harry O'Connelly- Father of Sparrow and deceased. Very Eccentric. Was a photographer and writer, who really liked to travel. As a hobby, he was a bird watcher. Was gentle natured.  
  
Jay O'Connelly- Eldest son and child, married to Jane with two kids. A lawyer that likes to write romance novels, he hasn't sold one yet. Is close to Sparrow.  
  
Raven O'Connelly- second oldest son and child, married to Lily, a wedding singer. Likes crosswords, has one son named Phil. Can be very intimidating. Lawyer  
  
Lark O'Connelly- married to Diana. Has one child named William. Lark's a lawyer, arrogant and can be annoying. Sparrow lives to torment him.  
  
Robin O'Connelly- married with a daughter named Jessica and a son named Mark. A bit of a nerd. Really likes Star Trek and Star Wars. Also a Lawyer.  
  
Crane O'Connelly- married to someone. Has a son named Conrad and a daughter named Sally. Obsessed with Dr. Seuss. Another Lawyer and gentle natured. Eccentric and a lot like his father.  
  
Oriole O'Connelly-Mullins- Married. Has three kids. Runs a coffee shop in New York with husband called "The Bird's Birch." Sparrow's only other sister. A lot like her Mother.  
  
Kea O'Connelly- Married to Maria. No children yet. He's a carpenter that works for a construction company. Very close to Sparrow. Practical, a characteristic not normally associated with O'Connelly clan.  
  
Sparrow O'Connelly- 29 years old. Can be absent minded like her mother. Not married much to her mother's displeasure. Photographer and Owner of magazine she started with Mary Anne and Kristy, which makes her quite rich. She's as addicted to mints as smokers are to Nicotine.  
  
Just some info for the heck of it. 


	13. A Proposal

Thanks to those who reviewed!  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing  
  
A Proposal.  
  
Chapter: 13?  
  
"Well Mac, what do you think?"  
  
"I think we're in big trouble." The many rings glittered around the two in the Stoneybrook jewelry store.  
  
"I think your right."  
  
"I say we call in Grandma."  
  
"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT." Mac looked at her father deeply surprised by his uncharacteristic out burst.  
  
"It was just an idea! Cool it! Now," said Mac as she headed over to a table with the glittering rings, "we should draw battle plans. What do you want in this engagement ring anyway?"  
  
"A tracking device, a medium size, durability and a green stone."  
  
"Do they make engagement rings that have tracking devices?"  
  
"Probably not."  
  
"Dad, have you ever thought of an engagement helmet or perhaps camera?" Charlie just gave his daughter a look.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
"God these shoes are killing my feet!" Sparrow hopping from foot to foot tried to get said shoes off.  
  
"That may be, but they look really good Sparrow. Charlie isn't going to know what hit him."  
  
"Well between my reflex action, graceful movements and these shoes that may be true. Oh thank God." That last statement was uttered when Sparrow finally got the high heel off.  
  
"Why are you getting all glammed up anyway?" asked Mary Anne. Sparrow had just finished a shopping spree with Mary Anne to find Sparrow something to wear that weekend.  
  
"It was Charlie's and my anniversary about three weeks ago, but we both forgot about it. So, Charlie decided to make up for it by doing something really big."  
  
"Oh how nice, but what is this the anniversary of? You guys didn't get together until November," Sparrow turned to her full length mirror smiling.  
  
"Why, it's the anniversary of when he threw me into a pond."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Now, did you pack your cell phone?"  
  
"Yes, Mother."  
  
"You're going to keep that on you at all times right?"  
  
"Probably not."  
  
"Well maybe you should, just in case you suddenly get the need to phone me with some life altering news for say. Sparrow just gave her mother a look, which Gwen ignored. "Now did you pack your ruby red lipstick that goes so well with your hair?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Your dress?" Sparrow just gave her Mother another look. "I was just making sure. You know how you are."  
  
"And guess who I got it from," said Sparrow quickly kissing her mother on the cheek before she headed for her train. Gwen O'Connelly smiled with tears in her eyes as she watched her daughter's retreating back. The O'Connelly monarch had decided to see Sparrow off when she had heard of the nature of this particular weekend visit to Stoneybrook. That naturally meant the rest of the family had to come as well. Gwen watched and waved as the train sped out of the station.  
  
"It's the last one. The last of my babies to get married!" Overcome with emotion Gwen O'Connelly began bawling into her eldest son's shoulder.  
  
"There, there Mother. Charlie hasn't even proposed yet, he may not." Gwen wrenched her face out of her son's shoulder.  
  
"What are you talking about!" Every single person in the O'Connelly clan tensed as their monarch forgot her tears and directed her energies instead on her anger. "They've been going out for over a year now! Practically two! If they don't get engaged this weekend, they had better have a damn good reason why not! The O'Connelly clan said nothing, as they were too busy cowering.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"What do you think?" asked Charlie modeling his tux for his daughter.  
  
"You look like a Penguin?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Your welcome."  
  
"I think you look great," said Sparrow walking down the staircase.  
  
"You don't look half bad yourself." Sparrow was in a dress of blue shimmering twilight that contrasted with her green eyes.  
  
"Thanks, but I would have preferred an explanation as to where we are going then a compliment, but I'll still gladly accept it."  
  
"Good. Now close your eyes."  
  
"You're not going to knock me over the head, tie me up and try to ransom me off are you?"  
  
"No, but I'll keep that in mind. The amount I could get for you could probably pay for this evenings entertainment."  
  
"Had to spend some money on me did we? Where are we going?"  
  
"It's a surprise, close your eyes."  
  
"You know, Lark use to say the same thing to me, right before he dumped mud down my shirt," said Sparrow as Charlie walked up behind her.  
  
"I promise I won't dump mud down your dress. Close your eyes," said Charlie quietly.  
  
"Fine, just as long as you promise." Charlie just to be sure that Sparrow wouldn't peak put a blind fold over her eyes.  
  
"Well we're out of here. It's the usual Kate." The baby-sitter Kate smiled and thought Charlie one of the most romantic men that ever had been.  
  
-----------------------  
  
"Now you can open your eyes." What met Sparrow's eyes when she opened them was a small table set for two on the beach. There was candlelight and Champagne.  
  
"Wow, this is amazing! And you know what? I don't have to wear these damn shoes!" Charlie laughed as Sparrow took off her high heels gleefully and blissfully threw them over her shoulder.  
  
"So what's for grub?" asked Sparrow a few minutes later after both of them had sat down.  
  
"Pizza, that I ordered all by myself. I tried to cook something French, but it went up in flames, literally."  
  
"I could complain, but that would be quite hypercritical of me. Here's hoping you didn't burn anything down," said Sparrow raising her champagne glass in a toast. Charlie smiled and clicked his glass against hers.  
  
"So where is it exactly?"  
  
"It's getting delivered."  
  
"What? You just said to the delivery person, deliver to the beach, right beside the pier or something?"  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
"Hum." It was only then that Sparrow noticed how twitchy Charlie was being. "Something wrong?"  
  
"No, what makes you think that?" said Charlie in a panic.  
  
"Your twitching as bad as Crane does when he's trying to tell a lie."  
  
"Oh, well you see--"  
  
"Hey, Mr. Thomas! I got your pizza! Is this the hot date? The one you're planning on proposing too? Who is she anyway?" the pizza deliveryman asked. (During the day he doubled as a student in Charlie's grade 12 English class. The local gossip mongrel, Terra Pierson, also of Charlie's grade 12 class, had found out from various sources that her English teacher had bought an engagement ring. As the local gossip had all but dried up, this was welcome news. The grade 12 class had teased Charlie mercilessly about it and had begged to know who the lucky lady was. There had been a lot of speculation as to who the strange red headed woman they had seen their teacher with from time to time was. [some of which greatly amused Charlie, some of which horrified him.] But anyway back to the situation at hand). Charlie turned in utmost horror to the pizza delivery guy. Sparrow when hearing that last bit had completely frozen with her champagne glass half way to her lips.  
  
"Here's your money Tom," said Charlie handing over 15 dollars and completely ignoring the questions he had been asked.  
  
"Thanks Mr. Thomas, but what did she say?"  
  
"Well I haven't asked her yet." Tom's eyes got all big in horror.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. I, I didn't mean to--."  
  
"It's all right Tom, you had probably better be heading back." And with a nod Tom ran. Charlie turned back to Sparrow who just looked at him shocked.  
  
"I had a huge speech all planned out, but honestly at the moment, I can't remember it." He began to laugh in a fake way with a slightly hysterical edge to it. Sparrow just continued to look at him shocked. It was almost like watching a really bad comedian laugh feebly at his own jokes in hope that someone in the audience will join him. Charlie finally stopped after a few seconds, with the sobering thought this was going not at all how it was suppose to. Shrugging slightly, he pulled a small box from out of a pocket and opened it. Inside was the engagement ring that had taken Mac and him forever to pick out. It was simple and beautiful. Course, Charlie thought, it would have looked even more beautiful with the rays of the falling sun shining through it and making it sparkle as he had originally planned it to be.  
  
"Will you marry me Sparrow O'Connelly?"  
  
"Oh my God," was Sparrow's reaction. Charlie suddenly remembered something.  
  
"Wait! I'm supposed to be kneeling!" He moved to get out of his seat, but his nerves had got the best of him. In his haste to get up, he hit the table, causing the long white candle in the middle of the table to fall over. Charlie instinctively went to catch it, but somehow managed to only set his sleeve on fire.  
  
"AHHH!"  
  
"MARY, JOSEPH AND JESUS!" cried Sparrow as she whipped the tablecloth off the table to try and beat the flames out with. Unfortunately, Sparrow knocked over the champagne bottle in the process and champagne spilt all over the tablecloth. Sparrow paid no heed to that fact, as she was busy with other things. Which was a very foolish and unfortunate thing to do, because as most know when someone is on fire you do not try to put out said fire with a tablecloth soaked in alcohol. It ends very badly. As Sparrow and Charlie saw when instead of the tablecloth putting the fire out only created another one.  
  
"AHHH!" Charlie running like a wild man, waving his burning sleeve quickly belly flopped into the shallow water of the beach. He began splashing his sleeve with the help of Sparrow. After they had managed to get the fire out, Charlie and Sparrow just sat in the water with the burnt tablecloth between them looking straight ahead.  
  
"You know there was sand right under our feet." Sparrow turned and looked at Charlie and began laughing so hard she was crying.  
  
"Do you know what happened to the ring?" Charlie asked Sparrow as the nurse bandaged his arm. Charlie by some miracle only suffered some minor burns and would be fine.  
  
"Yah, it's right here." Sparrow pulled out the ring. Charlie took it out of its box.  
  
"Forgive me for not kneeling, but last time I tried to, it ended badly." Sparrow snorted loudly. "But will you marry me?" Sparrow took the ring and just looked at it.  
  
"I never expected to get proposed to at a hospital in the emergency room," was all she said.  
  
"Well, did you expect the guy who asked, to set himself on fire for you?"  
  
"No," said Sparrow looking right into Charlie's eyes. She forgot all about the fact she wasn't wearing any shoes and that her toes still had some dried sand on them. She forgot about the fact she was in a hospital emergency room because her boyfriend had set himself on fire. She forgot everything. Except for the two things that mattered most.  
  
"Well?" asked Charlie looking mighty nervous. Sparrow looked right into Charlie's eyes, smiled and said,  
  
"Sure." 


	14. They Smiled Real Hard

Disclaimer: Own nothing  
  
Chapter 14  
  
of  
  
I Smile Real Hard  
  
Chapter entitled:  
  
They Smiled Real Hard  
  
Sparrow wanted something with some culture and was thinking India. Charlie figured they could do it over lunch, by the Justice of the Peace or a Priest informally. And Mac was thinking something so huge it would have bankrupted Canada.  
  
They compromised with Vegas.  
  
And so in what had to have been one of the most elaborate secret plans ever executed Charlie and Sparrow, along with Mac, kept the secret of their engagement from their families and began to make preparations. The actual guest list for the wedding consisted of exactly 3 people, Mac and a couple getting married after Charlie and Sparrow in the Shot Gun Bride wedding chapel, a Stan and Stella. A pair of crazy 65 year olds who had been living together since they were 20 and on a whim decided to become official in the eyes of God. They were nice enough to act as official witnesses.  
  
Neither Charlie nor Sparrow had wanted a big wedding; they didn't really even want a medium one. But a small wedding was out of the question. Both Brewer-Thomas and O'Connelly clans would have to be invited and the immediate family with spouses and kids alone was just under or over 40 people.  
  
So they decided to elope.  
  
"By the power vested in me, by the State Gaming commission and maybe even the big man upstairs, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss her man!"  
  
Charlie, laughing, did what he was told amid the clapping of Mac, Stella and Stan. ------------------------  
  
Oriole Mullins and her Mother burst into Sparrow's apartment only to find it empty. And not just the void of any life empty. All the furniture, chairs, lamps etc were gone. The two frantic woman- who had been quite certain that Sparrow had been robbed, murdered and dumped somewhere-learned from the landlord that in fact Sparrow had given notice and moved out not 2 days ago. Immediately and completely in sync of the other, the two woman whipped out their cell phones.  
  
"Hello, Jay? Sparrow's flown the coop!"  
  
"Hello Maria dear, is Kea there? Thank you. All right Kea, where the hell is she!?  
  
------------------------------------  
  
"Everyone smile real hard!" Stan, Stella, Charlie, Sparrow, Mac with her stepmother's arms around her shoulders all smiled for the camera as Bob (the man that had married the two couples) ran to get into the photo.  
  
SNAP!  
  
"Oh how I wish I could see the expression on their faces when they see this! Particularly mother's." Sparrow then began to cackle to herself as she typed on her laptop. -------------------------------  
  
Kristy in an offhanded manner opened the e-mail from Sparrow. The picture that showed up on her screen caused her to spit out her coffee, scream for her husband, all while crazily reaching for the phone and punching in her mother's number.  
  
------------------------------  
  
"Mother, I am sure there is perfectly good explanation for this. You know how scatterbrained she can be, she probably forgot to tell us she was moving. Mother have you even tried calling her cell phone?" There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. And for a brief second, Kea was afraid his mother had finally burst a blood vessel in her head, but then he was suddenly hit with such vulgar descriptive language usage, you'd think that an entire High school had been incarnated into a single being and it was that who Kea was talking to. Kea use to his Mother's unique vocabulary merely rolled his eyes. Then taking the phone away from his ear, he set it down on the desk in front of him and picked up some paper work he had to look over for tomorrow. He was reading in relative silence (the only noise being his mother's loud outcries of injustice from the phone) when a particularly loud laugh from his wife made him look up.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked. Maria merely turned to him from the computer screen and began laughing again. Kea, looking at his wife like she had gone nuts, got up to see what was so funny. The picture on the screen caused him to join his wife on the floor. Gasping for air, he picked up the phone and told his mother in mid-insult to check her e-mail.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Elizabeth Brewer held the phone away from her ear and quickly logged on to her e-mail. Clicking on the subject heading, I Smile Real Hard, a picture of her granddaughter, son and as she discovered, her new daughter- in-law came on the screen with three other people she didn't recognize.  
  
"Never say never indeed," Elizabeth muttered reading the message under the photo. Smiling, she put the phone back to her ear. "Yes, I see Kristy."  
  
------------------------  
  
Mary Anne Morgan, when seeing the photo, only muttered something along the lines of "typical Sparrow," and "Poor Charlie," before going to find her husband to tell him the news.  
  
----------  
Gwen O'Connelly looked at her computer screen in shock. A wide variety of emotions crossed her face. Anger, sadness, horror, anger, happiness, anger.  
  
Smiling up at her was a photo of three people she didn't know, Charlie, Mac and Sparrow with the caption in green letters of, "The Thomas Wedding."  
  
The End!  
  
Thanks to all those that have reviewed and stuck with the story. Epilogue is coming. 


	15. Epilouge

Epilouge  
  
I Smile Real Hard  
  
November Day  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed. A special shout-out to Penmaster6000! Thanks!  
  
A day in the Life....  
  
Two years later.  
  
Charlie Thomas smiled down at the scars on his arms with indulgence. The day he had received them was still as vivid in his mind as though it had happened only a second ago. And it wasn't just because of the blinding pain that was also associated with these burns, no it was mostly because that had been the moment when he had asked his second wife to marry him.  
  
"ON BLOODY HELL, I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" Charlie looked up to see his lovely wife tear through the house looking for her cell phone. Find it, wave it about like it was on fire, run out of the house at full speed, trip over Robin right in front of him and then show him her Wright brother impression. Without the plane. Lucky for her Charlie was expecting this, as he had been for 2 years, and caught her.  
  
"Thanks darling," and with a quick kiss, she was gone out the door. Mac, throughout this little circus act had been calmly sitting and reading the comics.  
  
"10 on 10." She said as Charlie sat down beside her.  
  
"Really? I'd say 10 on 5," he said pouring milk over his Crunchy O's.  
  
"Deal."  
  
Ten minutes later Sparrow walked back into the kitchen.  
  
"I hate you all." Charlie looked at his watch, cursed slightly and put a crumbled 10-dollar bill in his daughters waiting hand. It was Saturday and the only place Sparrow should be on Saturdays was in bed.  
  
--------  
  
"I'm running around like I'm on fire. Charlie knows what that feels like, don't you dear? And it's Saturday and my supposed family lets me almost go all the way to New York."  
  
Jay tried without success, to not laugh in his sister's face. He had come to Stoneybrook this fine day in June to see his little sister. And since the weather was so nice they were having a barbecue out in the backyard.  
  
"My poor Sparrow," he began. "Disowned by her Mother, made a fool of by her husband and Stepdaughter and just generally mocked by her siblings."  
  
"How is mother anyway?"  
  
"Oh her usual tyrannical self. Her anger at you has cooled a bit though, what with you expecting. She actually only gave me a half hour talking to when I told her I was coming here, instead of the usual 2." (Gwen O'Connelly, at seeing THAT photo, had promptly disowned her daughter, took all of Sparrow's pictures off of the walls and from the photo albums, put them in a big brown box and only by Raven's intervention had been stopped from burning them. While she had been wrestling the brown box from Raven (who had taxied over the second he saw the photo) she screamed at the top of her lungs that the clan was forbidden to talk to Sparrow and warned death to whoever did. At the Flockings, all of which the Thomas family attended, Gwen happily greeted Mac and chatted with Charlie easily. She wouldn't even look at Sparrow though. But despite all of this, she still phoned Sparrow at 4 in the morning just to chat.)  
  
"Well I guess that's good for appearance sake," said Sparrow taking a sip of her orange juice while rubbing her swollen stomach unconsciously.  
  
"It's a good thing in general as well Sparrow," spoke Charlie kissing his wife on the head before heading off to see what Mac was doing. Jay watched the exchange bemused before a look of excitement came over his face.  
  
"I forgot!" he exclaimed, pulling out a package that looked the size of a book. "I can't believe I did. Call it a belated wedding present," he said handing the package over to Sparrow. "HEY CHARLIE COME OVER HERE AND BRING MAC AS WELL!"  
  
The package actually was a book. But what made it so special was the author's name in bold print at the bottom. "The Photographer and Her Man", by Jay O'Connelly.  
  
"JAY! YOU GOT PUBLISHED!" Sparrow happily hugged her brother, while Charlie calmly flipped the book over and began to read the back. He had a nasty suspicion about that title. He was right.  
  
"My dear, before you continue, I think you may want to read the back." Charlie said handing the book to his wife. He smiled at Sparrow's quizzical look and merely waited. Still wondering what that look meant on her husbands face, Sparrow obediently read the back.  
  
Sparrow O'Connell was satisfied, successful, sexy and single. Until the accident that is. While taking photo's of starving children in the Amazon, to raise awareness of world hunger, she contracted a deadly disease that took her vision. No longer able to take the pictures, the still portraits of life as she called them, Sparrow fell into a deep depression.  
  
Charlie Fairchild was an English teacher and a single father of a vivacious 8 year old, Max. After his wife's tragic death when their only child was 1, he closed his heart to any romantic love, sure that no one could take the place of his dead wife. Or so he thought. Then one day, while helping to prepare for his sisters wedding, he laid his eyes on the beautiful, though sad, Sparrow. Determined to help this Sparrow of his heart, a friendship developed between the two that soon became something more, but will both of their pasts keep them from an everlasting love?  
  
Sparrow finished reading the back and turned to Jay. Charlie was not disappointed.  
  
"YOU BLINDED ME!" And despite the fact that Sparrow was five months pregnant, it didn't stop her from chasing Jay around the yard with a meat fork. Mac and Charlie only watched amused. I guess mother does know best, thought Charlie. I really did need more chaos in my life.  
  
The End.  
  
Well do we want a sequel? 


End file.
